


WAR CHILD

by stormy1990



Series: Story Of The Underworld [3]
Category: Johnny's Entertainment, Johnny's Jr., Kis-My-Ft2 (Band), Love-tune, NewS (Band), Snow Man (Japanese Band)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2018-12-15 13:51:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 53,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11807262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormy1990/pseuds/stormy1990
Summary: Things have been quiet in the Tokyo Underground for a while, but the arrival of new fighters announced the end of the calmness. Hidden memories also found their way back to the surface with their arrival and this time it was Kentaro who had to make sure that his past wouldn't destroy what he had built up. But what if the path he had left behind was now showing up in front of him again? Which road would he take from the crossroad?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the wait!  
> So here we go with the 3rd part of the STORY OF THE UNDERWORLD!  
> After this part all stories will continue together in COMBAT and bc that part got too long I added REMAINS as the final part.
> 
> Pls be prepared for the usual grammar and spelling mistakes!  
> Have fun reading^^/

 

_Kentaro tried to struggle against the grip of his gang members, but before he could get away they pushed him down into the ring of the street fight place they had forced him to come to._

_“Don't even try to get up here again, no one will help you. This is your punishment!”_

_“I didn't do anything! It wasn't me!” Kentaro shouted up to one of the members, but mocking smiles were all he got in response. He had searched his way through the Underground until here without any big trouble, but the gang he was part of at the moment seemed to be involved in worse stuff than he had expected. In the end he got suddenly suspected of stealing money from them, but Kentaro didn't even know that the money existed in the first place. To give him a lesson the others had decided to punish him and this was how he had ended up here._

_He flinched when someone else jumped down into the ring and realizing that it was his opponent he stepped back, pressing his back against the wall._

_“Afraid?” The other one asked with a lopsided smile before he stepped closer. He was over a head taller than Kentaro and seemed like a really good fighter. Judging by age he didn't seem so much older, but that wouldn't help him. The other one seemed more than amused by his scared expression and when he suddenly jumped forward Kentaro jumped to the side but lost balance and landed on the ground. The audience had broken out in a huge laughter thanks to that and seeing how his opponent was laughing as well, he realized that he was totally enjoying humiliating him instead of just winning the fight._

_Kentaro looked up to his gang members again, but they were cheering for the other one as all the other people. It wasn’t like he cared for them, but there was one other gang member, someone he cared a lot for and who wasn’t with him and that when he needed him more than ever. So often had the other one offered him to learn better fighting skills from him and a lot of times Kentaro had refused, something he regretted a lot at the moment._

_“If I were you I wouldn't space out,” his opponent said before he approached him again and somehow Kentaro knew that he wouldn't fake an attack this time, so he had to get up fast._

_He managed to jump to the side at the last moment before his fist could collide with his face, but the other one had seen his move coming and raised his knee hitting him in the stomach with so much force that Kentaro was out of air for a moment and struggled hard to stay on his feet. Before he could think of defending himself from the next attack his opponent had grabbed him by the hair and threw him to the ground. Another round of laughter resounded in the bunker and Kentaro wondered what would happen if he just remained on the ground? But the street fights were known to be merciless, so he might just end up kicked to death._

_He got up again and ran off into the opposite corner to get some time to get a plan together, not that he had any street fight experiences, but at least he had had his small fights here and there together with the gang member he had formed a team with before and what he learned there could be of use now._

_“Good in running away,” the other one let out amused before he approached Kentaro again, but this time he was prepared for several attacks. Everything he had to do for now was to dodge them and he knew exactly how he could manage that. He span around the other one as he lunged out for a punch, like this he couldn’t try to kick him again. But of course the other one tried to turn around and hit him again, this time with his elbow, but again Kentaro was faster and duck away under the attack, countering with a foot sweep and it came so sudden for the other one that it really took him of his feet to everyone’s surprise._

_The other one cursed and got up again, attacking faster and more accurate than before, resulting with Kentaro getting a really hard kick against the shoulder which threw him to the ground and before he could get away the other one stepped on his ribs with so much force that Kentaro escaped a small scream before he turned to the side gasping._

_“Having problems?” One of his gang members yelled from the side and of course mocking glares hit him from all over as he looked up at them. The Underground is your family and you have to protect it, that is what they have taught him, but now this guideline seemed to me of no value to them anymore. After all they didn’t listen to him, they didn’t believe him. Thinking of what he had went through with those members and how easily they had betrayed his trust rage rose inside of him and the next time his opponent attacked, his kick went into nothing as Kentaro rolled to the side at the last moment and kicked upwards, lifting himself up with his arms to have a longer reach and his kick landed perfectly on the latter’s chin, totally taking him off guard. The kick wasn’t too strong, but the angle had been to his advantage and his opponent stumbled backwards, completely disorientated._

_Before he could start another attack, Kentaro dashed forward and kicked him with both legs against the chest. His opponent crushed into the wall, while he went down on the floor again, but landed flat on his stomach with his arms supporting his fall, so that he wouldn’t get hurt by his own attack. Without losing time he got up once more, right in time to see his opponent screaming out and dashing towards him, but his movements were too obviously now that he just attacked out of pure rage and Kentaro could see through his attacks right away. The moment he reached him and lunged out Kentaro jumped into a backflip and hit him with a kick under the chin. This time the other one went to the ground and Kentaro stayed alarmed for another moment, trying hard to calm down. But then there was the applause and people cheering for him and it was clear that his opponent wasn’t going to stand up again._

_He let himself get dragged up from some of the other fighters and they congratulated him on an interesting fight before they concentrated on the next one._

_Kentaro’s look went over to his gang members who just took the money from all the bets, after all no one had thought that he could win. Now the others would even earn something out of his punishment, it almost made Kentaro laugh. But he vanished in the crowd before the others could even realize what was going on and with them on the other side of the room, they wouldn’t be able to catch up to him easily. But as he had reached the door he could already hear the angry shouting behind him and he ran!_

When Kentaro opened his eyes he needed a moment to realize that it had been a dream, even though the happenings in it were more than real. This fight had happened just minutes before Ueda had rescued him as his gang members had caught him after his escape.

“The Underground is your family and you have to protect it,” Kentaro whispered to himself and moved his fingers through his hair with a sigh before he looked to the other side of the bed where Nikaido was still sleeping. He was lying dangerously near to the edge and Kentaro shifted over to him carefully, trying to not wake him up. “So I’ve heard the words before after all.”

It’s not really like he had forgotten them, but as Nikaido he had also buried some parts of his past back in his head and he wasn’t really that happy about them showing up in his dreams now without any particular reason.

Everything was going without any kind of trouble in the fight club and even with Ueda and Taiga gone for almost two months already and with Nikaido not fighting, but training everyone instead, they had finally gained the top position of the strongest fight club in Tokyo. With Massu in the 5th class now and Juri in the 4th it felt at least a little bit as if they had gotten someone to step into Nikaido’s and Fuma’s places, not that it would change the fact that Kentaro really missed Fuma and Kento. Taiga and Ueda were about to come back in the end after all, but Fuma and Kento had the chance of a new start and they shouldn’t interfere in any kind of way to not mess things up.

“Why are you awake already?” Nikaido was suddenly heard next to him with a really sleepy voice and Kentaro couldn’t hide the smile on the others moody expression as he tried to sneak more under the covers to protect himself from the sunlight which tried to find its way through a slit in the curtain.

“Just couldn’t sleep anymore,” Kentaro answered before he stroke a strand of hair out of Nikaido’s eyes and the latter looked up at him with one of his amazing smiles, but Kentaro didn’t move forward. He wanted to keep looking at him from afar, because studying his expression was somehow calming him down a lot recently. Without any trouble inside the club Nikaido had calmed down a lot as well and even though he still fought with the shadows of his past from time to time, he had stopped hiding and that was what was important to Kentaro.

“Don’t even expect me to get up now, because of that though,” Nikaido replied and Kentaro chuckled.

“I didn’t expect you to, don’t worry. Sleep as long as you want, it is a day without training after all. We all need some rest.”

Their last tournament had been just two days ago and they had won without any big injuries. Tegoshi had hurt his knee and Kochi had a really annoying headache since his opponent had crushed him head first into the ground. But Miyata did his best to fix them as he always did.

“Perfect, then I will just turn around and ignore- Woah....ow….”

Kentaro burst out in broad laughter the moment Nikaido had tried to turn around, but failed because the bed ended and he found himself on the ground trapped in his blanket.

“Really funny! You could have warned me, you know?” Nikaido scolded the younger one as he got up again and tried to somehow get out of the blanket which had wrapped around him while falling.

“Sorry, but this was worth it I guess,” Kentaro replied teasing, because after all he liked Nikaido’s carefree side the most and it came out best at moments like this. The Nikaido he had met first wouldn’t even have bothered with the situation. He would have pretended that nothing had happened and get back into bed, but now Nikaido rubbed the back of his head and sat down on the bed with a flick of his tongue. It was obvious that he really would like to scold the bed for not being more spacious. After all he liked it to make others responsible for things that happened to him.

But Kentaro just chuckled again before he sat up on his knees and hugged Nikaido from behind with his arms lightly around his shoulders. He leant down to give Nikaido a light kiss on the cheek and the other one turned to look at him with a still tired smile.

“I guess this was a sign to tell me that I should get up after all.”

“Maybe. Then how about we take it slow and have some really nice breakfast first? Juri and Kochi promised yesterday that they would make breakfast for everyone today.”

“Then I am not sure anymore if I want to go. If they cook it separately then I am definitely going for Kochi’s breakfast.”

On that Kentaro laughed again before he hugged Nikaido a little bit tighter, but released him the next moment to get up and get dressed.

For a moment he stood still and turned to Nikaido who was also up now, getting his clothes from the chair. Should he tell him about the dream? After all they had said no secrets anymore. But it wasn’t like they hadn’t spoken about Ueda rescuing him before, at least in a rough version, so it wasn’t really a secret anymore and the details could wait for a fitting time. For now he just wanted to enjoy the calm time they were finally able to share with everyone. Who knew when something would come up again and throw their lives into chaos?

***

“Ehm is this supposed to be this black?” Tegoshi asked skeptical as he examined his bread which was more black than brown.

“If you don’t want it, don’t eat it! You can make your own breakfast then!” Juri complained as he stood in front of the table where Massu and Tegoshi were sitting. The other fighters had already gotten breakfast from Kochi and of course no one would complain about his cooking skills, but it was different with Juri.

“I can eat it, I like it crispy,” Massu let out a little bit teasing as he snatched the bread away from Tegoshi to take a bite from it. “Not as bad as I thought.”

“Shall I feel honored now?”

“Maybe you should get back to the kitchen corner instead?” Tegoshi interfered.

“Oh so now you want more of my food or what?”

“No actually I want you to put out the fire.”

“Fire? What, fi- SHIT!” Juri ran back as fast as he could as he realized that Tegoshi hadn’t said it for fun. He threw a towel over the burning fry pan and luckily nothing else had caught fire, but now all eyes were on him, especially Kochi’s who couldn’t hide his mocking smile.

“Next time I leave all the work to you, I swear!” Juri complained right away before Kochi could tease him.

“Does that mean we are getting our breakfast from Kochi? Then I am relieved,” Nikaido said as he stepped into the big common room followed by Kentaro who tried hard to not form the same teasing smile towards Juri as Kochi already did.

“You know what? Do whatever you want! This was the last time I am doing you guys a favor!” Juri yelled with his arms raised in the air.

“I see you are all in a good mood.”

Everyone turned to the door where Nakai had just appeared and Nikaido bowed lightly towards him and the others hurried to get up as well and follow his example. “You all did really well in the last tournament. I have to say that I was never as proud of a team as I am at the moment. Who knows how far we can come when you are back in the ring as well,” Nakai said encouraging, hitting Nikaido on the shoulder before he gave Kentaro a bright smile and ruffled through his hair. “And if you train hard I guess I can soon consider putting you into the next class.”

“What? No way, he still stands no chance against me at our training!” Juri interfered right away, not in an offending way though, it was just the truth.

“But he wins against Kochi a lot lately and also against Tegoshi, so as I said, he has to train just hard enough,” Nakai explained again, but Kentaro just nodded, biting the inside of his cheek, because he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to get into an even higher fight class. The third class had been hard enough for him over the last months and with two tournaments in which he both had more or less won to sheer luck, he didn’t want to even think about stronger opponents for now. It was bad enough that Fukka had also joined him in the third class, so he had an opponent which knew all his tricks.

“Anyways, the reason I am here is, that I wanted to let you know that we have two new members joining the club tomorrow.”

“Did they fight before?” Massu asked interested.

“Which fighting class are they?” Tegoshi added right away, but Nakai lifted his hands to stop them from asking any more questions.

“All explanations will follow tomorrow. For today just relax, okay? I just wanted you let you know.”

With that he excused himself again and Nikaido and Kentaro finally sat down next to Massu and Tegoshi. After a moment Kochi and Juri joined them and even though Juri still glared at everyone he let Kochi handle the rest of the breakfast and somehow he seemed kind of relieved to receive his own breakfast from Kochi as well.

“So two newbies again, let’s hope they are no trouble makers,” Kochi let out worried and everyone could relate, because they had enough bad experiences with new fighters for the rest of their lives.

“Whoever they will be and how trustworthy they may look, let’s be careful, okay?” Nikaido lectured everyone and they all nodded knowing that they had to stick together to prevent something similar like the scenario with Kitayama from happening. Kentaro also agreed, because whoever it would be, they would stuck with their friends rather than with some strangers and he had definitely learnt his lesson from what happened through his naivety.

“What’s with the gloomy look?” Nikaido asked him suddenly and put his hand comforting around his shoulder. Of course the older one knew that Kentaro would feel the most worried through his statement, but he didn’t accuse him for anything and Kentaro knew that of course. “Stay with me whatever happens, okay?”

“As if I would ever leave your side or let you leave again,” Kentaro answered almost scandalized and Nikaido smiled in response before placing a kiss on his hair before they finally concentrated on their breakfast and made plans with the others to go out in the afternoon. After all they had the day off and they wanted to distract themselves from all the fight club related things for just a while.


	2. Chapter 2

“Not again! Could you two please cut it out in the morning already?” Juri complained as he stepped into the training room and found Massu and Tegoshi in it. But of course they were not training or at least not what they were supposed to train. Massu was lying on the mat on the warming up are and Tegoshi sat on top of his legs. A few minutes ago this had probably been a normal warming up exercise, but now Tegoshi was leaning over the other one and each time Massu lifted his upper body up he gave Tegoshi a kiss and just to tease Juri a little bit, Massu repeated it a few times more before he dropped to the ground and Tegoshi stood up with a loud laughter.

“Oh come on, we have Kentaro and Nikaido in the club, it is not as if you were safe anywhere,” Massu complained as he rolled on his stomach.

“At least they have their own shower or I would never enter there again,” Kochi let out as he also stepped inside the training room and walked over to the table to snatch away one of the water bottles.

“Be happy that those two have their own shower,” Juri let out, pointing at Tegoshi and Massu.

“Hey like this you two have the whole shower to yourself and I doubt the other fighters will disturb you as late as you always go for the shower,” Massu teased them happily and before Juri could answer something Kochi chocked on his water and hit himself on the chest a few times before he took a deep breath with teary eyes. On that reaction Massu broke out into a resounding laughter and Juri blinked a few times in confusion before he finally turned to Kochi and pointed first at him and then back at himself before he started shaking his head.

“No, no, no! Woah slow down here!” He yelled and threw his arms up in disbelieve. “We are not taking showers together out of THAT reason,” Juri added almost panicked and Tegoshi finally moved over to him and put his hands soothing on his shoulders. “Juri, calm down, he is just joking!”

On Tegoshi’s words Juri looked over to Kochi who just rolled his eyes and put the bottle back on the table with a little bit more force than needed. “Not funny!”

“What is not funny?”

Everyone turned towards Nikaido who had just appeared in the door and walked over to them but stopped next to Juri, scanning him with a worried look. “Juri, are you okay? Your face is all red did you catch a cold yesterday when we all went out?”

On Nikaido’s honest worries Tegoshi and Massu had to try hard not to start laughing again and Juri pierced them with a death glare.

“No, all good! Don’t worry. Where is Kentaro?”

“He is coming a later, I let him sleep a little bit more. He definitely needs to rest longer.”

“So we have the first one who overdid it yesterday and I am honestly surprised that you didn’t share the same fate as much as you drank,” Kochi said pointing at Massu, but the latter just gave him a lopsided smile.

“I am really strong with alcohol and I guess if Kentaro would have gone to bed right away, then he wouldn’t feel that bad either,” Massu replied with a knowing look towards Nikaido who tried to ignore the direct hint.

“Anyways, get ready for training!”

They waited until the rest of the fighters were also slowly gathering and Nikaido started the training without any delay. He had also not been holding back the evening before and a lot of the other fighters seemed to have used the free day as best as they could as well, but he wouldn’t go easy on them because of that.

“Juri could you at least try and win against him?” Nikaido scolded the boy who was running away from Massu instead of really trying to counter.

“Come on he is scary you can’t deny that!” Juri shouted over to him and had to duck down the next moment when Massu dashed towards him and tried to hit him with one of his powerful right hooks with which he could break a jawbone easily.

“Juri! What are you...come back here!” Nikaido shouted after the boy who had rolled away under the ropes the moment he had dodged Massu’s attack and now he tried to sneak away from the ring, but of course Nikaido wouldn’t let him off that easily and he grabbed him by the back of his collar trying to pull him back, but Juri had reached Kochi at the same moment, pulling on his arm to not get dragged back.

“Juri, what the hell, let go!” Kochi scolded him as he almost lost balance through the sudden pull. For a moment the three of them pulled forth and back until someone clapped his hands in amusement. When they realized that Nakai was standing in the door with a bright smile spreading from one ear to the other Nikaido let go off Juri who was still pulling at Kochi and didn’t expect to get released that easily. Through the lost force on one side he fell forward right on top of Kochi and dragged him down with him. His friend scolded him right away as he hit his head on the floor thanks to him.

“I guess this is the perfect timing to introduce you to your new members, because like this they will know right from the beginning what a chaos troop you are.”

Now everyone finally spent full attention towards their boss and the next moment he stepped aside making way for the newbies. Two boys stepped inside, they were both about the same age as Juri and Kochi, maybe a little bit younger. One of them was blonde, the other one was a bit smaller and had ash grey hair which fell into his eyes in long strands and there was a light scar on his cheek up to his temple.

“This fight club is really turning into a Kindergarten,” one of the fighters in the back let out and a few others nodded on which Juri and Kochi looked at them scolding. Sure they were the youngest fighters until now aside from Taiga, but they should all know that age wasn’t really deciding about the person’s fighting experience and ability.

Suddenly the grey haired boy let out a low chuckle and pierced the fighter who had spoken up with a dangerous glare.

“A big mouth for someone low ranked as you. Which fighting class are you, 2nd?”

The fighter gritted his teeth and made a threatening step forward, but the boy just formed a lopsided smile. “Alone that reaction shows me that I am right. Don’t even bother then, you won’t stand a chance against me.”

The next one to laugh was Juri and the boy’s eyes fell on him right away. “Any complains?”

“Oh not at all. I just wondered how much overconfidence fits in such a slim body.”

“Says the wandering skeleton.”

The two boys kept starring at each other and as if they were both stroke by lightning at the same time they took a few big steps forward and grabbed each other by the collar.

“Want to find out who the overconfident one here is? Just now I saw you jumping out the ring if I remember correctly.”

“No worries, you will definitely leave the ring before me! On your free will or with my help!”

They pulled each other closer while the older ones looked at Nakai, but he didn’t interfere which resulted in Nikaido also not moving for now. But to everyone’s surprise it was the blonde boy who stepped up and hit his friend on the back of his head so that he finally let go of Juri.

“If you have forgotten, let me remind you that this is supposed to be our club members, not our new opponents!” The blonde boy scolded him before he faced Juri with a smile, way calmer than they had thought the boy could be. “Sorry for the harsh greeting,” he apologized.

“No worries, he will learn his place soon enough,” Juri let out as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and Aran was about to step to the front again, but before they could jump at each other once more Kochi had grabbed Juri by the head and shoved it down so that he had to bow towards the other one.

“You should also learn where your place is and maybe we should start from down here,” his friend scolded him before he looked at the two boys again. “We also apologize for the unwelcoming greeting. Don’t bother with him too much. He is a really nice guy as soon as you get to know him better!”

Kochi faced them with a light smile while Juri finally succeeded in getting out of his grip and shoved him away with a scolding look before he turned away, pouting.

“You could really say they are like mirror images,” Tegoshi suddenly let out and all four looked at him in disbelieve. Kochi and the blonde boy looked at each other and let out a chuckle while Juri and the other boy glared at each other again before they turned away with arms up in front of their chest at the exact same moment, letting out the same annoyed growl. On that almost everyone started laughing and the heavy atmosphere dissolved slowly.

“Okay, good to see that you are getting along so well already, you can all introduce yourselves to them latter. For now let me just introduce you to your trainer, Nikaido!”

Nikaido made a few steps towards them and Juri couldn’t hide his smile as he saw right away that they both knew that they shouldn’t mess with him. But of course the grey haired boy shot him a death glare right away as he felt Juri’s eyes on him.

“Nikaido why don’t you have a training match with them, let’s see how about...”

“Sorry for being late,” Kentaro stepped inside the next moment and Nakai turned towards him with a smile.

“Ah, perfect timing, I was just thinking about you, Kentaro!”

On the mention of his name the grey haired boy swirled around so fast that Kentaro flinched as he met the wide eyed stare of the other one, but his shock just lasted for a second before it turned in pure disbelief.

“That can’t be true…” Kentaro let out in an almost inaudible voice and the first to tense was Nikaido, because for a moment it wasn’t really clear if their reactions where good or bad.

“Unbelievable!” The boy let out before he started moving towards Kentaro with big steps and Juri made an attempt to interfere, because the steps seemed as threatening as they had been towards him, but it came different then they all thought.

Without any kind of hesitation the boy threw his arms around Kentaro and to anyone’s surprise Kentaro hugged him back, his hands grabbing the fabric of his shirt almost desperate.

“Aran!” Kentaro let out in a shaking voice and he just backed off enough so that he could look at the other one. He left one hand on his shirt, as if he was afraid that he could vanish every moment. With the other hand he traced the scar on his face and Aran cracked a bright smile.

“It healed pretty well, didn’t it?”

Kentaro could just nod. No words could really describe what he felt at this very moment. Once more he hugged him and buried his face on the younger one’s shoulder and Aran let out a small chuckle, patting his hair.

“Ehm, would someone mind explaining what is going on?” Kochi asked hesitantly after a moment, but the blonde boy also just shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah, we want to be part of the celebration,” Massu said smiling, because whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be a bad memory, at least not at first sight. But Nikaido still remained doubtful, even though he didn’t believe that the boy faked his happiness, but he had learned to be careful after all.

“Sorry, I’ll explain,” Kentaro said as he finally got a grip again. “This is Aran! We were together in the same troop when I entered the Underground.”

“What? That was a few years ago already, right? How old were you when you entered?” Tegoshi asked Aran kind of disbelieving.

“Too young, that is for sure. But I didn’t really have a choice back then. I guess you all know how difficult life can be.”

Of course they knew, because they didn’t really come down here for fun either, but seeing even younger people than themselves involved in the Underground hurt them each time.

“Ken-chan and I were best buddies back then. We would always watch each other’s backs.”

“Ken-chan?” Nikaido let out with a raised eyebrow and Kentaro’s cheeks turned slightly pink on which Nikaido’s look turned even more disbelieving.

“I told you so often that I don’t want you to call me that!” He scolded his friend, but he just let out a chuckle before he hit his other friend against the shoulder. “It is a habit I will never get rid of, that is also why you all can call him Hagi-chan.”

“Says who?” Hagiya let out with a fake threatening look towards him.

“Can we also start calling you Ken-chan then?” Juri asked teasing on which Kentaro rolled his eyes.

“Great now they will all get on my nerves with this name thanks to you!” He scolded Aran who bit his lip apologizing.

“Don’t complain, you gave Nikaido his nickname as well!” Kochi added on which Nikaido pointed his finger straight at him with a warning glare. “Don’t even bring that topic up or I’m going to turn your training into hell!”

Kochi shut up on that threat right away, pretending that he had never said anything in the first place, but Aran looked at Nikaido the next moment and when their eyes met, they all fell silent for a moment.

Nikaido could sense that both boys had their secrets, as they all had. If they were dangerous in any way, he couldn’t tell and the fact that Kentaro trusted at least Aran should maybe calm him down, but somehow it made something else inside of him snap. It wasn’t like he felt threatened by Aran the same way as with Kitayama or Shige, but something was rampaging inside of him.

Before he could drown in his thoughts so Aran finally looked away again and turned towards Nakai who had listened in silence until now with a surprised, but blissful expression through the sudden reunion of those two friends.

“You were talking about a training match, right?”

Nakai clapped his hands once on that as if he had totally forgotten about it. “Right! Now this is going to be even more interesting than I thought! Then off into the ring with you two!”

Everyone stared disbelieving from Kentaro to Aran as Nakai pointed at them, but the boss didn’t seem to change his mind soon. The two friends exchanged a brief look before Aran shrugged his shoulders and grabbed Kentaro by the wrist, pulling him towards the ring.

“It’s just training, right?”

“But, Aran…”

“Don’t worry, I will go easy on you.”

Juri and Kochi exchanged a confused look on that, but Kochi just shook his head and followed them towards the ring.

Nikaido looked at Nakai once more before he really allowed them to have their match, but the boss didn’t object and Nikaido helped Kentaro into his gloves while Hagiya helped Aran.

“Did you fight him before?” Nikaido asked as he closed the second glove, but Kentaro shook his head, seeming slightly nervous about this sudden match.

“No, but I saw him fight a lot and…”

“And?”

Kentaro bit his lip and looked over to Aran with a sceptic glance, but his friend still carried a carefree smile, but Kentaro knew the best how soon his mood could switch again, especially because the first overflowing emotions of their sudden reunion would be forgotten in a few moments and Kentaro knew what was coming next.

“Kentaro, don’t space out, concentrate!” Nikaido warned him as he snapped his fingers in front of his face.

“Sorry. Don’t worry, it will be fine. It’s just a training match after all, right?” Kentaro replied with a brief smile which vanished as he finally stepped inside the ring, with Aran already waiting for him.

“Shall we bet on someone?” Massu asked suddenly and while Nikaido shot him a death glare Juri seemed to really consider it.

“I bet on Aran then,” Hagiya said confident.

“Sure you would bet on your own friend,” Juri replied.

“I also bet on Aran to be honest.” Tegoshi’s words made them turn to him in disbelief, but the latter just shrugged. “Hey, you asked, right? If you want to bet, I bet on Aran.”

“Same,” Massu let out and Juri flicked his tongue.

“Unbelievable and that after all we went through. You should know better what he is capable of!”

“You should as well! I am also betting at Aran,” Kochi interfered and now the last bit of color had slowly disappeared from Juri’s face. Now he wasn’t angry anymore, but worried as he faced the ring again as Nikaido gave them the signal to start.

“Nice to have at least some sort of protectors,” Aran said as he opened and closed his hands, observing the movement of his own gloves for a moment.

“Unfortunately they are not as thick as I hoped in the beginning,” Kentaro replied disappointed as he stroke with his fingertips over the already pretty ripped end of the gloves around his knuckles.

“But you are still treasuring the same gloves when I see correctly?” Aran asked with a bright smile and Kentaro nodded.

“Ridiculous isn’t it? Someone like me shouldn’t treasure things like this without being able to treasure my own friends, right?”

That was when Aran’s smile fell and he dashed forward with such a speed that Juri escaped a surprised gasp on the side of the ring.

Kentaro knew of his speed of course, but after all those years he seemed to have become even faster and even though he could have at least redirected his punch, he didn’t! He let his fist collide with his cheekbone with the full force and Nikaido flinched, but refused to show more reactions. With Nakai being there as well, he wasn’t allowed to interfere anyway.

Aran didn’t try to start another attack instead they both froze like this for a moment. Aran’s eyes were hidden under his hair and he clenched his fist even tighter as he moved his arm back. Kentaro didn’t move at all and he looked towards the ground instead of facing his friend.

“At least you understand that you deserved that punch,” Aran let out in a sudden hoarse voice and as he looked up again, tears of anger were shining in his eyes. Kentaro gulped hard before he dared to look up at his friend. “You could have told me! You could have tried to contact me, but you fucking idiot just left me behind!”

Slowly everyone was able to put the pieces together, even though they didn’t know the details of course.

“I’m sorry,” Kentaro whispered, now fighting with his own tears. Of course he hadn’t forgotten about his friend back then, but the happenings of that day had shaken him so much that he didn’t even consider getting close to the troop’s territory again. And then Ueda had brought him to the fight club and with Nikaido appearing in front of him, he had pushed his memories about that time so much to the back of his head, that he had completely stopped worrying for his friend. Now that he realized what he had done the guilt about leaving him behind crushed down on him.

“Aran, I am really-”

“Don’t! You said it once that is all I wanted to hear!”

Kentaro bit his lip as Aran shook his head and finally stepped back. “This punch was my way to finally finish with this and your apology should be the same for you!”

Kentaro still felt uneasy about it, because after all a single apology couldn’t erase the pain he had caused the boy.

“Come on, show me what you have learnt over those years,” Aran challenged him and spread his arms inviting. Kentaro took a deep breath and tried to calm down again as his friend showed him a lopsided smile. One of those confident smiles he had shown him so often before.

“Don’t go easy on me, you hear me?” Kentaro challenged him back and with that he finally concentrated. He had to keep his own words in mind, because not fighting Aran with all he got would end this fight before it could even start.

Kentaro attacked first and tried to go with straight punches and round kicks for now, mainly because he wanted to analyze Aran’s new strength and twisting and turning around wouldn’t give him the opportunity to do so.

“You got faster,” Aran praised him, but dodged his next punch and moved behind him so fast that Kentaro couldn’t even think of a counter as Aran closed his arm around his neck and turned one of his arms on his back on which Kentaro winced on the sudden pain. “But I am still faster,” he whispered into his ear, but released him the next moment. After all he didn’t intent to push him out the ring, but fight him fair.

“And still overconfident, I thought this scar finally taught you that.”

“Don’t forget that this scar saved your life!”

No this time Kentaro wouldn’t feel sorry. He wouldn’t apologize, because what had happened back then had been their job. It was nothing to feel sorry about, they did what they had to do to survive and it had been Aran’s own decision back then to rescue him and that scar also connected to another memory, a good one in some way, but as Kentaro realized that this was definitely not where his thoughts should end up now he concentrated back on the fight.

This time it was Aran who attacked next and he wasn’t holding back at all and the next moment Kentaro got tackled to the ground. He knew he had to be fast, because this was Aran’s specialty. The moment he trapped his opponent on the ground he could seriously win the fight in so many ways that it was already scary. His favorite was to strangle the other one with his legs, so when he tried to trap Kentaro with his legs the other one shifted away as fast as he could, but he still wasn’t able to get up and Aran pressed him down with his own body weight. Kentaro tried to hit him with his elbow, because he was lying on his stomach by now and suddenly Aran seemed to have some trouble to keep him down, which made his look turned to frustrated after a moment and then he blocked Kentaro’s next attack and hit his elbow on his lower back. He hit fast and accurate and stood up the next moment. Everyone was confused why he got up again and gave Kentaro the space to recover even though he obviously had the upper hand, but Kentaro knew what made him back off and he didn’t like it at all. Aran had another special technique and it seemed like he had finally used it. The hit hadn’t really hurt that much, but it had definitely done the damage Aran had been aiming for.

“This is actually the first time I use this on you,” the younger one let out almost apologizing as Kentaro sat up on his knees and he could already feel the numbness in his body. He tried to stand up, but landed back on his knees right away. He cursed out loud and hit against his thigh, but he couldn’t even feel the pain of his own punch, his legs were completely numb, he couldn’t get up anymore.

“What happened?” Juri asked confused, but even though Kochi normally had a lot of answers to other people’s fighting styles, this time he was just as speechless as everyone else.

“I guess that was it already then,” Nakai announced suddenly and Kentaro let out a curse before he punched the ground once.

Nikaido wasn’t sure if he should be happy that the fight had ended without the two boys ripping each other apart or worry because he couldn’t really explain what had just happened. He jumped into the ring and tried to help Kentaro up, but the boy shook his head.

“Trust me for at least the next hour you won’t get me back into a standing position.”

“Sorry, I might have overdone it a little bit! But I promise in latest two hours it will just be a light sting, nothing more,” Aran apologized as he approached Kentaro, but out of reflex Nikaido stepped in front of him. Aran stopped right away and looked from Nikaido to Kentaro who rolled his eyes at his protector before he hit him against his leg so that he would turn towards him again.

“Would you concentrate on me for now? As you can see I can’t really move on my own!”

“Yeah we can all see that, but mind explaining to us why?” Tegoshi finally asked, forming the question which everyone wanted to know the answer to.

“It is a special fighting style that aims for the neural points all over the body. It is hard to aim accurate, but if I succeed then I can bring the whole body to halt. Not just the legs, I can do the same to the arms and even cause bigger damage inside the body if I wanted to.”

Now everyone had fallen silent and Kochi hit Juri against the shoulder as he realized that his friend was staring at Aran with his jaw dropped widely open.

Nikaido just took Kentaro’s arm and threw it over his shoulder and moved his other arm under his legs to carry him out the ring.

“Okay so we have one awesome fighter more in the club, scary indeed, but still awesome!” Massu said approving.

“And any secret techniques from your side, Hagi-chan?” Tegoshi asked teasing, but Hagiya really didn’t seem to be bothered by that name.

“You can find out about his fighting style tomorrow. For now I guess Massu can take over the training while Nikaido brings Kentaro to the med room.” Nakai walked over to the door without any further announcements and left with a bright smile on his face. Of course he would be happy, with a new fighter like this they had a huge advantage in the next tournament.

“Oh wait I have one more question,” Kochi announced and looked at the other two. “Did he tell you your fighting classes?”

Now everyone’s attention was back on them and Hagiya tilted his head. “He told me something about having a few training fights first before he decides. It will be either 3 or 4 I guess.”

No one seemed too surprised about that, because after all Nakai wouldn’t recruit anyone lower than the 3rd class a few weeks before the next tournament.

“And you?” Kochi asked Aran who licked his lips nervously.

“Oh come on, you don’t have to worry that we are making fun out of you if it is a lower class.” Juri started. “Kentaro started at the 2nd and is now on his best way into the 4th.”

“That’s awesome,” Aran said towards his friend who just nodded lightly, because compared to Aran it wasn’t awesome at all, but he was the only one knowing that.

“But I have to say that if it is the 4th class then I might start laughing,” Juri added confident as always and with a bright smile, but Aran just chuckled returning the same confident smile.

“Then how much would you laugh if I said it was the 5th class?”

Juri’s face changed a thousand colors as his amused expression fell and was replaced by a confused one and stopped on a shocked one as he realized that the boy wasn’t joking.

“Okay I guess now this is getting interesting,” Massu admitted and Tegoshi nodded approving.

“His fighting style is really dangerous after all,” Hagiya explained and no one would doubt that.

“Ow,” Kentaro whined as Nikaido suddenly tightened his grip around his shoulder. He hit him against the chest in return, but didn’t say anything. No one had spent them any attention anyways, but Kentaro could read the tension on Nikaido’s face.

“Could you bring me to the med room for now?” He asked finally and Nikaido nodded, giving Massu a few instructions for the rest of the training and Aran apologized to Kentaro again before they left the chaos of this morning behind them for now.


	3. Chapter 3

_“Get down,” Aran shouted at Kentaro and the latter did as he was told and ducked before the other gang member could stab him. The next moment a stone landed on the other one’s face and he fell back with an outraged scream. Aran was right next to Kentaro the next second and pushed him out of the way as their second opponent attacked them._

_Aran was way faster than him and with a fast attack on his arm his attacker could suddenly not lift it anymore. He cursed out loud and tried to kick him instead, but again Aran was faster and moved behind him and the direct hit on the latter’s neck from behind made him crumble to the ground unconsciously._

_Kentaro was still too shaken to even keep up with everything that was going on and so he needed a moment to realize that the other one was back on his feet, even though the wound on his head looked really bad._

_“ARAN, WATCH OUT!”_

_But he didn’t have to worry. Aran had seen the attack coming and grabbed the wooden bar from the ground they had used against them before and turned to hit him with it in the stomach. When the other one gasp and bent over, Aran jumped to the side and hit the bar over his head with so much force that it broke in half._

_An annoyed sigh escaped the boy before he turned to Kentaro. “Please tell me that you at least kept a hold on the documents.”_

_Kentaro nodded and finally dared to loosen the grip on the papers he was holding on to since they had dashed out the other gang’s place. Sure their so called “job” wasn’t really what you could call normal, but they all kept their hands from the more dangerous yakuza hideouts._

_“At least you are fast in running that makes you a little bit useful, newbie.”_

_It wasn’t like Kentaro could counter anything on that, because he was for now just happy that they survived, but having this brat scolding him was hurting his pride a lot._

_“Could you at least call me by my name?”_

_“Which was?”_

_Kentaro rolled his eyes on that, but he couldn’t freak out on him, he was new in the Underground and if he would mess up, who knew where he would end up next._

_“Kentaro,” he answered snappy before he shoved the documents against Aran’s chest who snatched them away with an annoyed groan._

_“No need to get cocky, boy.”_

_“Don’t call me boy when you are at least 5 years younger than me.”_

_“Oh I am so sorry, I really thought you were younger than me with your chubby cheeks and puppy eyes.”_

_Kentaro growled dangerously at him, but then there was a movement behind Aran and another member of the gang appeared so fast that Kentaro didn’t even know how he had been able to pull Aran out of the way. He had spotted the knife in the other one’s hand right away and he twisted around him as fast as possible and even though he didn’t really knew how to fight properly he at least knew where to aim. So he jumped up and kicked his opponent into the back which made him stumble and fall to his knees. Before he could get up again Aran was right in front of him and knocked him out with an accurate round kick towards the temple._

_“I guess you are useful for other things as well,” Aran let out and Kentaro was ready to snap for making fun out of him again, but when he looked up to him the boy carried an honest smile which left him gaping for a moment. “Thank you.”_

_Now he was even more out of words and he wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly and after another moment of silence Aran stepped closer and hit him against the forehead. “Earth at Ken-chan! Are you still with me?”_

_“Ken-chan?” Kentaro repeated irritated while Aran started already walking and signaled him to follow him._

_“You don’t like it? Sorry when I decide for a nickname, you can’t really make me call you by another name. Guess you have to deal with it,” Aran explained laughing, but Kentaro didn’t feel offended. This time he really wasn’t making fun out of him. “But we have to do something about your fighting, you really suck at it.”_

_“Thanks for the reminder,” Kentaro said with a defeated look on which Aran threw his arm around his shoulder and again Kentaro didn’t know how to react. It hadn’t been such a big deal that he had helped him, right? Aran would have been able to defend himself perfectly after all. He had just acted intuitively, so he didn’t really know how to react to the sudden change of the boy’s attitude._

_“Ken-chan?”_

_“Mh?”_

“Ken-chan? Are you awake?”

Kentaro blinked a few times before he completely understood that it had been a dream again. But the voice had been the same and when he looked up he found Aran sitting on the side of his bed in the med room.

“Hey,” Kentaro replied in a sleepy voice before he sat up. To his surprise he was able to move up his legs and Aran also smiled as he saw the movement.

“Sorry for that. I didn’t intend to even use the technique, but you got better than I thought and it somehow made me go serious on you,” the boy explained with a guilty smile before he sat down on the bed cross legged.

“No worries, as you can see everything is fine again. I didn’t even realize that I was tired enough to fall asleep though, how long did I sleep?”

“You just missed lunch,” Aran replied teasing on which Kentaro rolled his eyes and hit him against the leg.

“You could have brought something here if you had already decided to go on my nerves.”

“Oh so I am already going on your nerves after just a few hours? We are back to the old days faster than I expected.”

Aran let out a cheerful laughter and it reminded Kentaro so much of the time they had spent together that he couldn’t control his body as he sat up on his knees and pulled Aran in his embrace. Aran froze for a moment, but relaxed fast and returned the hug, moving one hand to Kentaro’s hair, stroking over it carefully.

“I know you said that one time was enough, but I really want you to know how sorry I am for not contacting you again after I ran away,” Kentaro apologized again and he felt the movement on his shoulder when Aran shook his head.

“It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t angry, okay more like furious, but I can’t blame you. It was a chance for you to get away, to have a new start and you took it, not risking to get dragged back again.”

“But maybe I could have dragged you out on the way, but I was such a coward, I am so sorry.”

This time Aran pushed him away on the shoulders to be able to look at him and he gave him another encouraging smile. “Hey, we both know that I am the stronger one of us, so no worries. I’m fine as you can see!”

Kentaro just nodded. Of course he wanted to ask his friend so many question about what had happened after he ran away, how he had ended up here and how he met Hagiya, because at least back when he was with the gang, he hadn’t been with them. But for now he didn’t want to ruin their reunion with topics like that. Aran’s hand on his cheek made him flinch and he landed back in reality again.

“Shall I bring you some food? I bet there is still something left.”

“I guess I can get it myself. I don’t really like it in here so much. I was in the med room way too often and too long already,” Kentaro said almost embarrassed and Aran stood up to help him stand up, but to their surprise Kentaro could almost walk on his own already. But just in case Aran put his hand protectively around his waist.

“So as soon as you are fully recovered, you have to show me more about your new fighting style. I just got a glimpse of it earlier. Seems like someone finally taught you how to use your dancing to fight.”

“Guess not just my fighting skills changed,” Kentaro added and Aran gave him a knowing smile.

“You two make a really good team.”

“Who?”

“Oh come on Ken-chan, I am not blind. Your protector tried to burn me down with his eyes earlier. He is definitely not trying to hide anything. Especially if he can protect you better like this.”

“Yes, we figured out that hiding stuff wasn’t really our best choice until now,” Kentaro let out with a sad smile, before he tried to cheer up again. It wasn’t Aran’s problem and he definitely didn’t want to tell him about all the bad stuff that had happened to him, especially not on his first day.

***

The chain of the punching bag made a dangerous grating noise after Nikaido’s last punch and somehow he felt kind of disappointed that it didn’t break. Not that he wouldn’t have to get a new one, now that he was the trainer and in charge of stuff like that, but that was his smallest worry.

While everyone had left for a break at noon before the evening training, Nikaido had remained in the training room the whole time. He couldn’t really calm down after the arrival of Hagiya and Aran, even though he couldn’t really understand why. They didn’t seem dangerous at all and Aran was even an old friend of Kentaro, so he should normally be calmer, but he just couldn’t control his weird anger for now.

Even Kochi had started chatting with the two after the training and even though Juri seemed still pissed it was obvious that he just needed to know them better or more like Aran, because weirdly he seemed okay with Hagiya.

After bringing Kentaro to the med room and making sure that he would really be okay, he went back to give the usual training, but something told him that it wasn’t his time to be at Kentaro’s side today. This one thought alone made him turn to the bag once more and he punched it a few times before he kicked it so hard that he really wondered how it was still hanging.

“Would you mind not breaking it again? I just fixed that one a few days ago.”

Nikaido turned towards the door, finding Massu leaning against it with crossed arms.

“That explains at least why it is still hanging,” Nikaido replied before he finally stepped back and took his gloved off.

They both moved over to the table with the water bottles and Massu lifted one up and threw it over to Nikaido who caught it with a small thankful nod.

“So are you planning on training yourself to death before the next tournament?” Massu asked teasingly, but even though he smiled Nikaido could see that he had of course realized that Nikaido wasn’t that happy about their new fighters.

“It’s just my way to cope with my stress. No worries, it’s not as if I would neglect my responsibilities as a trainer.”

“But your responsibilities have nothing to do with your private life and there you are free to interfere as much as you want.”

Nikaido raised an eyebrow at him before he took a sip from the bottle and placed it back on the table. “It’s not like I would die if I wasn’t close to Kentaro for a day.”

“And still you act totally ridiculous because you try to stay away from him so he can spend some time with his friend. What he is doing at the moment, by the way. Aran helped Kentaro to the common room earlier and after lunch they vanished. I guess they are in his room. After all this time they will have a lot to talk about.”

The sting Nikaido felt in his stomach on what he had just heard wasn’t really pleasant, but he tried to not show his annoyance too much. Not that Massu hadn’t already realized it anyway.

“Won’t you at least take a small break and eat something before the training in the evening? The next tournament will be announced soon and I doubt you want everyone to feel unsettled, because of you.”

Of course he didn’t want that. But that didn’t make his feelings change, but he gave in anyways and nodded before following Massu out of the training room.

He would normally get to know everyone better through either fighting them or training with them, so in this case maybe some break before the next training would be really good, so that he could concentrate on analyzing the two boys later.

***

He wasn’t sure why he even knocked. He hadn’t knocked at all for months now. The same question was written on Nikaido’s face as he opened the door.

“Is Nakai observing you or why are you so careful?”

Kentaro cracked a brief smile on that and walked inside Nikaido’s room as the latter let him pass and closed the door.

“How are your legs?”

“All good again. It’s not like there would be any after-effects,” Kentaro explained as he sat on the bed and it didn’t take long for Nikaido to give him one of his typical scolding looks before he sat down next to him.

“I will listen, whatever it is, you know that,” Nikaido said as he tuck a strand of hair behind Kentaro’s ear. The younger one gave him a smile again, but as before it wouldn’t last for long.

“I feel bad for not telling you about Aran,” Kentaro finally admitted which actually seemed to surprise Nikaido.

“That’s all?”

Kentaro nodded, because yes for now that was all. It wasn’t as if he had tried to hide it. They had just never spoken of exactly this part of his life.

“If you want me to tell you everything, then I will do so,” Kentaro started, but Nikaido shook his head right away and cupped his face to stop him from looking to the ground with a gloomy expression.

“If you really feel like telling me, I won’t stop you, but it doesn’t have to be now. Aran and Hagiya just arrived today there is no need to rush things. I bet you two have a lot to talk about.”

That was something he couldn’t deny, even though he wasn’t sure if there was even more scolding awaiting him if they talked about the other happenings between them. Of course Aran seemed extremely happy about the reunion, but now they were in the same club, so they would meet every day and there were still a few things still not clear between them since Kentaro had just vanished like that and he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

“I heard you two talked a lot today after you woke up again,” Nikaido said and made him wake up from his daydreams.

“We did, but now he is with Hagiya and now that they are both official members here I guess there is no need to rush things. I can talk to him over the next days enough, but now I am done talking for today.”

That statement made Nikaido raise an eyebrow at him, but he got the answer right away as Kentaro sat up on his knees and pulled Nikaido into a kiss. The latter responded right away and shifted so that he could rest his back on the wall and pulled Kentaro on his lap.

“I guess the talking part is really over then,” Nikaido said against the boy’s lips when he broke the kiss, but still refused to back off. On his words Kentaro took Nikaido’s bottom lip between his teeth and pulled on it, but it was still too gentle to make Nikaido scold him.

“Then how about you shut up?” Kentaro’s demanding tone made Nikaido forget about their conversation for now and he grabbed the boy by the shoulders to turn them around. To his surprise Kentaro struggled and tried to remain on his lap, but that made it just more challenging for the older one. Instead of pushing him away again Nikaido pulled him down for another kiss and as much as Kentaro tried to resist, because he knew already that he just wanted to distract him, he couldn’t from letting out a moan into the kiss when Nikaido deepened it.

Without a warning Nikaido moved his hands to the back of Kentaro’s thighs and shifting to the front at the same time, resulting with Kentaro falling on his back with Nikaido now sitting between his legs.

“I would say that was my shortest lead over the whole month,” Kentaro let out kind of disappointed while Nikaido didn’t hesitate to let his hands vanish under the boy’s shirt.

“Maybe you should train some more then, so that you can keep it for longer?”

“If I am training with you beforehand then I have no energy left to even try and get the lead,” Kentaro scolded him before he grabbed the seam of his own shirt to get rid of it.

“You are so impatient today, you know that?”

“Maybe you are just too slow to keep up with my pace?” The challenging tone made Nikaido sit up and remove his shirt as well before he crawled up to his face and the boy welcomed the next kiss without any complains. But when Nikaido slipped one hand into his pants, directly under his underwear and around his member, he jolted.

“Oh sorry, too fast for you?” Nikaido asked with a teasing smile on which Kentaro grabbed him by the hair and pulled him down, biting him harshly on the jawline. This time he used enough force to make Nikaido hiss, but in return he gave him a rough first stroke and Kentaro dropped with his head back on the bed and let out a deep moan.

“I would enjoy it so much to make you come like this.”

On that Kentaro gave him a death glare and he tried to get his hands on Nikaido’s pants, but the latter wouldn’t make it that easy.

“Oh come on, as if you just wanted to watch,” Kentaro scolded him as he didn’t let him reach out for his pants. Instead he gave him another stroke before he pulled Kentaro’s pants down a bit to get a better access with his hand. When Kentaro tried to shift under him to make him let go he pushed him down into the sheets.

“Trust me just seeing how you beg me for more is enough for me already,” Nikaido whispered next to his ear and suddenly a shiver ran through Kentaro’s body. There was no way he could resist if Nikaido would actually keep playing after his own rules. Unfortunately he had learnt over the time that Nikaido could hold back perfectly if he wanted to while driving him insane on the way.

“Please, not today…” Kentaro begged him on which Nikaido escaped a chuckle as he backed off to look at his face.

“You gave up fast.”

On that Kentaro hit him on the forehead before pulling him down for another kiss, which he deepened this time and he rocked his hips up at the same moment, which finally resulted in Nikaido letting go of him to pull his pants down completely.

They just parted to get rid of the rest of their clothes and the moment Nikaido moved back, Kentaro pulled him closer with his legs around his back.

“As I said, impatient!”

“And as I said, I am just faster than you.”

“Mh, means I will have more fun tonight? Or at least for longer?”

Again Kentaro wanted to hit him, but Nikaido didn’t give him the chance as he trapped one of his hands next to his head and pushed in without losing any more time. Kentaro tensed for a moment and grabbed the sheets with his free hand, because Nikaido didn’t give him any time to adjust as he gave him a harsh first thrust.

“Still not your pace?”

Instead of answering, Kentaro moved his free hand to the older one’s back and buried his nails there, before rocking up his hips to signal him that he could move again.

“Mhh I see, playing tough today.”

Nikaido shifted his weight and pulled Kentaro up in a sitting position, so that he would sit almost on his lap, but he forced him with his back against the wall. There were still no complains heard, even though the position didn't seem to be the most comfortable one. With the next thrust Nikaido bit him on the neck and a shiver ran through the boy’s body.

Kentaro tried to lift his head up and get their lips together, but Nikaido refused and moved his lips to his earlobe instead, biting him there as well.

“Nika, please…”

That actually made Nikaido lose his teasing attitude for a moment and he shoved Kentaro even more against the wall. The boy had his head buried at the older one’s neck while trying hard to not moan too loud after all they could easily be heard.

“Are you close?”

The question needed a moment to get understood by Kentaro, but then he nodded against his shoulder before he lifted his head and this time Nikaido didn’t refuse when he obviously asked for kiss. Nikaido finally reached out for him again and it didn’t take more than a few strokes for Kentaro to come, his moan swallowed by the other one’s tongue invading his mouth way too deep as he sped up his movements to satisfy his own needs. When Nikaido reached his climax just a few thrusts later as well, they parted again, both heavily breathing against each other’s lips.

“Didn’t you want to have fun for longer?” Kentaro asked teasing on which the other one suddenly pulled him down into a lying position again.

“Who said that this will end here tonight?”

That was actually what Kentaro had hoped to hear and he moved one hand up to caress Nikaido’s cheek before the older one leant down to give him a short, but still passionate kiss.

It had been the absolute right decision to spend his night with him after all. It had been just the first day with the new members around, but with Aran he had to try hard to find his balance. And as much as he was trying to tell himself that there was no way he could actually lose his balance towards the wrong direction, he knew that he had to be careful to stay true to those thoughts. Because that was also a part which had to be talked about, but as Nikaido had said, it could wait for a better timing.


	4. Chapter 4

“You really think this is a good idea?” Kochi asked skeptical after Juri had challenged Aran to a training fight. “You saw the fight between him and Kentaro yesterday. You want to end up in the med room as well?”

“I’m in a higher class than Kentaro, don’t forget that,” Juri replied as he got his gloves on and stepped into the ring with a confident smile. “And as much as everyone is that fascinated by his fighting style, I bet I can beat him.”

“Don’t be so sure of that,” Hagi interfered on which Juri rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying that Aran can’t easily be beaten through direct force, so even though you are in a higher class than your friend, you might end up with a huge disadvantage.”

“Maybe I should fight instead then,” Kochi said with a teasing smile on which Juri shot him a death glare.

“Just shut up and watch,” Juri said and walked up to the middle of the ring, waiting for Aran to join him, but he was still talking to Kentaro what he had done for the whole morning already and by now it was going on his nerves.

“Could you finally stop your chattering and move your ass over here?”

“Wow you really want this fight, don’t you?” Aran asked with a lopsided smile as he clapped Kentaro on the shoulder before entering the ring as well. Kentaro didn’t really approve of Juri’s sudden challenge, but it was Nikaido who had to make that decision and he didn’t mind, so now they were all gathering around the ring.

“You want me to hold back?”

“If you want to get beaten even faster then feel free to do so,” Juri said as Aran finally got his gloves on and stepped right in front of him.

“Boys, the next tournament will be announced in the next days, so please don’t rip each other apart!” Nikaido warned them, but both just kept staring at each other, Nikaido just sighed and gave them the signal to start. Juri didn’t even hesitate to throw the first punch, but Aran was faster and dodged it. When he lunged out it was obvious that he already aimed for Juri’s arm with his most dangerous attack, but Juri saw it coming and jumped back.

“He is taking this really serious, isn’t he?” Massu asked while observing them. After all with Aran in the 5th class as well, he could end up fighting against him for training, so as more information he could get about his fighting style, the better.

“I am actually surprised that he is so concentrated, because normally when he gets angry he loses easily,” Tegoshi admitted and Kochi nodded as well. After Hagiya’s warning he was sure that it would have been a fairer fight with him and Aran, but sometimes Juri could analyze as well, so if he concentrated enough he could at least stand a small chance.

Juri let out an annoyed growl as his attacks were blocked by Aran each time and he had to go on distance to not end up losing the feeling of either an arm or a leg.

“Can’t you fight normal?” Juri hissed at him, obviously trying hard to find a way to turn the tables.

“For me this is normal. If you can’t handle it, then you shouldn’t have challenged me.”

That was actually the truth and Juri couldn’t deny that he had maybe underestimated his strength, but that didn’t mean he would give up.

 His next attacks were faster and he tried to spin around him and pull back his punches as fast as possible, but he still couldn’t get through his defense. After a few minutes Juri cursed and rested his hands on his knees.

“Shall I end the fight?” Nikaido asked, but Juri shook his head.

“Then maybe I should end it, before you get yourself unnecessary exhausted. I would say I let you play long enough,” Aran added, who wasn’t even out of breath.

“As if I let you beat me so easily,” Juri yelled at him and jumped into the next attack, but Aran moved way faster this time, which actually made a few of the observing members gasp. Kentaro and Nikaido didn’t seem so surprised though, after all Kentaro knew him and Nikaido could analyze good fighters quite easily.

Aran’s attack came fast and accurate. Two hits on the left arm and one hit on the hip of the same side. Then silence followed as he stepped back. Juri gritted his teeth and wanted to make a step forward, but his left leg wouldn’t move the way he wanted and he almost stumbled. He also tried to lift his left arm, but there was no movement.

“Told you,” Aran said while shrugging his shoulders and Juri would have loved to attack him, but there was no way he could properly move now and he let out a curse.

“Okay, everyone back to training,” Nikaido announced the moment Aran moved to the side of the ring and Tegoshi and Kochi jumped up to help Juri.

“I would say “we told you” now as well, but I guess you don’t need scolding right now,” Kochi said with a teasing smile on which Juri hit him on the back of the head with his right hand, before he let them help him towards the med room.

“Don’t look at me like this. I didn’t go harsher on him than on you, he will be fine,” Aran assured Kentaro as he saw his scolding look. Before he could reply anything Aran flung one arm around his neck and pulled him closer, ruffling through his hair with his other hand.

“Aran, stop it,” Kentaro scolded him, because that was actually something Aran did a lot even when Kentaro tried to stop him. With a loud laughter he released him again and turned towards Nikaido who was observing both with a neutral look.

“Any other sparring fights for today?”

“Not for you. We will need our fighters mobile for the next weeks,” Nikaido answered on which Aran escaped another chuckle. “You can train with Hagiya on the punching bags for now.”

“Hagi-chan,” Aran let out in a way too excited voice as he took a small run up at Hagiya and jumped on his back. Hagiya just rolled his eyes at him, but carried him over to the punching bags so that they wouldn’t get scolded by Nikaido.

“He is extremely cheerful for being in the Underground for so long,” Nikaido said, but Kentaro didn’t reply. Instead he looked at Aran with an absent look. “Hey, are you still with me?”

When Nikaido waved his hand in front of his face Kentaro blinked a few times and looked up at him with a brief smile. “Sorry, I just spaced out. Yes he is a really cheerful character.”

It wasn’t actually a lie, but it also wasn’t the whole truth.

“Are you concentrated enough for a sparring match or should I leave it for the afternoon training?”

“No, all good,” Kentaro replied right away, because the more he could distract himself the better. There was no way Aran would leave it at the small talk from the morning for long, so for now he could at least pretend to be focused on the training.

***

_“Why not?”_

_“Because I said no.”_

_“That’s no explanation. Come on Ken-chan, it will help you a lot and I don’t have to worry so much for you then,” Aran tried again, but Kentaro stopped abruptly so that Aran had to stop as well or he would have bumped into him. Kentaro turned around with an annoyed glare, but the younger one didn’t seem to get the problem._

_“I don’t want to learn how to fight, okay? Can we leave it at this?”_

_Aran pouted, but Kentaro just rolled his eyes and kept moving again._

_“Why the hell did you join this gang then?”_

_“Because I had nowhere else to go! And if you’ve forgotten we have work to do, so would you concentrate?”_

_“I don’t have to concentrate. I can defend myself. You are the one who brings us into trouble on each new job.”_

_Aran’s annoyed tone made Kentaro stop once more and he let out a sigh before he shook his head._

_“Just imagine I could fight the way you can, what would happen?”_

_Aran didn’t seem to understand the question as he blinked at him in confusion, before he tried to find an answer. “I don’t know, maybe you being able to save your own ass?”_

_“Exactly, so?”_

_“So, what? It would be great if you could handle things on your own, then I don’t have to watch out for you anymore and you...oh…” when Aran stopped in the middle of his sentence it was clear that he had gotten his point._

_“And I would get jobs on my own, away from you, because there would be no need to handle things together.” Kentaro ended his sentence._

_While Kentaro’s look remained serious, Aran slowly formed a teasing smile on which Kentaro lifted an eyebrow at him._

_“What?” Instead of getting an answer Aran jumped at him and pulled him closer, just to mess his hair up with his hand. “Aran, stop it,” Kentaro scolded him and tried to get away from him and Aran released him with a chuckle before he hit him against the shoulder._

_“You can be so cute you know that?”_

_On that Kentaro was out for words for a moment, because that wasn’t actually what he had aimed for with his scolding. “I mean come on you don’t want to get separated from me, that is a really nice thing to say.”_

_This time Kentaro finally understood why Aran was so happy out of a sudden. They had gone through a lot of missions together until now and sure Aran had to do most of the work normally, while Kentaro was the one to sneak around and steal things. Not just once this had led to a fight between them about who was doing more work, but normally it ended with Aran teasing Kentaro about his height, saying that he could just continue sneaking around, because no one would see him anyways. But now they were the perfect team and when Aran offered him to teach him how to fight he was of course worried that they could get separated through that, what he hadn’t expected though was Aran’s happy reaction about his thoughts._

_“It’s not like I couldn’t work with someone else, but why bother with someone else when we make a good team,” Kentaro replied as neutral as possible, but Aran wouldn’t stop grinning. “Stop that!”_

_“Stop what?” Aran asked with an even brighter smile on which Kentaro growled and pushed him away on the shoulder before turning around again. Of course Aran let out another chuckle on his sulking attitude, because he knew that Kentaro was smiling as well, even though he wouldn’t turn around to show him that smile. Maybe he just needed a little bit more time to open up completely._

This time Kentaro realized right away that it had been a dream and he sat up with a sigh. It wasn’t helping him that he was dreaming of his past nonstop now, it actually made matters worse. He was alone in his room, after he had needed a night to think. Hagiya and Aran were in the club for almost a week by now and so far everything was okay. Juri was still pissed, but had finally stopped challenging Aran. Instead he had started focusing on Hagiya as Nakai had announced that he would be in the 4th class. But the same as Kochi, Hagiya was a good analyzer and Nikaido had forbidden Juri any sparring fights with the new boys until the next tournament.

Kentaro dropped back on the pillows with a smile, because even though they quarreled a lot it wasn’t actually as if it was something to worry about. Remembering how Juri and Kochi had behaved around Taiga and him at the beginning it was just a matter of time for them all to get along well. On the thought of Taiga his smile suddenly faded again. There was no way that they would come back before the beginning of the new year and even though he should feel happy for Taiga being finally able to spend some time with Ueda and travel around, he missed him a lot. Nikaido would never voice it out, but it was clear that he missed the two as well and that not just because he could give the trainer position back to Ueda as soon as they were back.

Without being able to stop his thoughts they drifted off to Kento and Fuma next, but even though he missed them as well he stopped himself from feeling bad, because after all Fuma had chosen to protect Kento even though he had to leave a really important part of his life behind. Kentaro let out a groan as he felt how a headache slowly came up through all those thoughts and when he felt how pictures of Hokuto and Senga showed up in his mind he finally stood up. Like this he would drown in his own bad thoughts, even though there was no need for it. As quiet as possible he moved through the corridors to not wake anyone up, after all it was still in the middle of the night.

He made a brief stop at the toilet and got some water from the common room before he wanted to go back, but then he heard voices from the corridor and he peered carefully out the common room, finding Hagiya and Aran talking in a low voice as they moved up to the staircase to their rooms. For a moment Kentaro thought about walking up to them, but then he decided against it and waited until they were out of sight. The fact that they had been out alone meant that they maybe just didn’t want anyone else around. Suddenly Kentaro felt down again without even knowing why. After all those years it was just normal that Aran had found new friends. Of course he still kept talking a lot to him, but they had still not talked about the important parts. Kentaro was waiting impatiently for him to bring some topics up, but Aran just kept his carefree smile. Going out to clubs was something Kentaro and the others did from time to time as well, so there was no need to feel down because Aran hadn’t invited him. Maybe it was better this way. If Aran didn’t care anymore, why should he? For now they should concentrate on their training anyways, he could still think about the important stuff after the next tournament.

***

“Stop!” Nikaido shouted and Aran stopped his attack right before he hit Kentaro’s arm. “Aran, I told you not to use that technique at the sparring anymore.”

“Sorry, I just got carried away,” Aran apologized before he clapped Kentaro on the shoulder and stepped back. They both stepped out of the ring when Nikaido ended their sparring fight and told Kochi and Hagiya to go next.

Aran grabbed one of the glass bottles and took a sip before he handed it to Kentaro who took it with a nod.

“You know, it’s still weird to see you in the ring or even fight against you, after you refused letting me teach you how to fight for so long.”

Kentaro almost choked on his words and put the bottle back on the table. Why had he to bring up the same topic from his dream? Of course the topic itself wasn’t something bad, but Kentaro’s look fell on Aran’s scar on his cheek right away. The latter noticed and moved his hand over his scar with a faint smile.

“It was one of our last jobs together before you vanished,” Aran let out in a low voice. “Can you believe that they even found the real culprit and acted if you never existed afterwards?”

Kentaro couldn’t really answer on that, because hadn’t he done the same? He hadn’t even spent them another thought since he had entered the fight club. His look fell on Nikaido who had been his best distraction back at that time.

“I like that look, you really care for him,” Aran said and it made Kentaro almost flinch, because as much as he wanted it to be just a harmless side notice there was a hidden accusation in it.

“Aran, you know…”

“Everyone, please gather!” Nakai interrupted him as he stepped inside the room followed by two men he had never seen before.

Aran just smiled and pushed him towards the others which gathered in front of Nakai. Kentaro’s look fell on the two men again and remembering that Nakai had said something about a new fight club, it was obvious who they were.

“Everyone listen. Let me introduce to you the boss of the West Tokyo Fight Club, Takizawa.”

Takizawa gave them all a warm smile and bowed lightly. He let his eyes wander over all the fighters in front of him and he nodded once more. “I can already see that you are a really strong fight club. It will be my pleasure to host the next tournament and challenge the number one fight club of Tokyo.”

“Please also welcome Yara, their number one fighter,” Nakai added and the man next to Takizawa bowed. He wasn’t that tall, but one look at Nikaido told Kentaro already that he was indeed a dangerous opponent.

“Guess you already found your opponent,” Tegoshi teased Massu who crossed his arms with a confident expression.

“I’m always ready.”

“Ready to get beaten in your first class 5 fight?” Juri teased him on which Kochi hit him on the back of his head with a scolding look.

“You make sure to win your own fight first, before you make fun of others.”

Yara and Takizawa both cracked a smile and Nakai also hummed in amusement, after all he was used to his chaos troop the best.

“Actually it is not clear if Massu will fight against Yara,” Nakai announced to everyone’s surprise.

“You want Aran to fight him instead?” Kochi concluded, but Nakai shook his head.

“Maybe you should explain the details,” Nakai addressed Takizawa who nodded.

“Our fight club is not just new established, it is also the first fight club in Tokyo with a new system. Instead of fighting in different classes there will be a drawing system for the fighters.” Some quiet muttering started between the fighters on that announcement, but Takizawa lifted his hand in a soothing way to make them fall quiet again. “To make things fairer we decided to not allow fighters under the 3rd class to enter the tournament and there have to be the same amount of class 3 to 5 fighters on both sides.”

“Then they can’t at least run us over with their horde of class 5 monsters,” Juri whispered towards Kochi who suddenly shot him an angry glare.

“If they have that many good fighters,” Tegoshi added on which Juri nodded with a brief, almost hesitant smile.

“Right,  maybe they just have Yara, we will see.”

“How many fighters will enter the tournament?” Nikaido asked and Kentaro didn’t even have to ask for his intentions. It was clear that he would try to get Kentaro out of it if possible and Kentaro couldn’t even be angry at him. It wasn’t just that they had opponents they didn’t know, but also a system which could bring a lot of problems. But as long as Nakai seemed fine with it they couldn’t refuse the challenge and while Kentaro seemed worried he saw that Massu and a few others were excited for it.

“We will have 4 fighters on both sides, but the 4th fight won’t happen if we don’t have a draw at the end of the 3rd, which isn’t that common, but just to be sure we always add a 4th fighter on each side,” Takizawa explained and everyone’s eyes went back to Nakai.

“I already decided the fighters if you wanted to ask about that,” Nakai announced before they could even ask and they tensed right away.

“Our four members will be Massu and Aran for the 5th class, Juri for the 4th class and Kentaro for the 3rd class.”

Silence followed his announcement. Massu and Aran seemed pretty excited about getting chosen, Juri just shrugged his shoulders, even though it was clear that he was also looking forward to the fight, but Kentaro’s look darkened and as expected he found Nikaido looking at him with the same dark expression when he turned towards him.

Kentaro got ready for Aran to jump at him and tell him how awesome it was that they both were in the same tournament, but to his surprise it didn’t happen. He turned to look at the boy who was standing next to him with his eyes fixed on Yara and Takizawa. When his name got announced he had seemed excited, but when Kentaro’s name fell his look had suddenly changed.

“I know you didn’t meet the other fighters now, but just so you know their classes we have Yara and Junta in the 5th class, Yasuda in the 4th class and Sanada in the 3rd class,” Takizawa announced so that Kentaro concentrated on them again. “But as I said, through the drawing system the opponents could be overlapping the classes. Aran fighting Sanada or Yasui fighting Junta could be the outcome for example.”

That didn’t make it any easier for Kentaro to accept that he had been chosen, but for now he would just accept it as it was, because what else could he do? After the announcement Takizawa and Yara excused themselves together with Nakai again who waved Nikaido towards them so that he could have a talk with them as well.

With Nikaido gone and Aran suddenly in a weird mood, Kentaro felt extremely left alone. But before he could worry even more Kochi clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a supportive smile.

“Don’t worry, okay? We will all come to the tournament as well. Don’t give up before you have even met your opponent.”

Kentaro had to smile on Kochi’s words, because the boy just always knew what to say.

“You’re right. I guess I should concentrate on training instead of giving up from the beginning,” Kentaro replied with a brief smile.

“Especially because I can’t wait to see you winning and Juri losing, that would make him freak so badly.”

“And you call yourself his friend?” Kentaro asked laughing while they both moved over to the ring. Kochi picked up his gloves and held the ropes open for Kentaro who stepped inside.

“Come on we all know that he can be too full of himself and after winning in all the tournament recently he might need to be reminded why he is still not in the 5th class and maybe a real fight against a fifth class member like Yara or Junta would maybe show him his limits.”

“Wow, you can already analyze people you have never met before, I am impressed.”

“Hey I just met Yara, didn’t I?”

“Yes for five minutes,” Kentaro reminded him with a chuckle before he got his gloves on as well.

“Be happy that I can analyze him that fast, like this I can already warn you about some moves of his. Come on let’s get prepared for this tournament.”

Kentaro shook his head on Kochi’s over motivated behavior, but he couldn’t be more thankful for his help.


	5. Chapter 5

“You will never change,” Nikaido said while shaking his head, trying to ignore Kochi and Juri which were running after him for over ten minutes already.

“What is going on?” Hagiya asked amused as he stepped inside the training room, finding Kentaro smiling teasingly at the scene in front of them.

“Oh, just the usual. You have to know that as soon as a tournament gets announced and Nikaido gets more serious with everyone’s training that they try to run away as much as possible.”

“Means exactly what?”

“That they want to go out for a club, but now that we have barely two weeks until the tournament Nakai and Nikaido normally forbid everyone who participates in the tournament to do anything that could bring us into trouble.”

Hagiya just nodded with a knowing expression, but then both flinched when Aran approached them out of nowhere and flung his arms around both, stepping between them.

“I heard something about a club?”

“Aran, we are both in the tournament, don’t even think about it,” Kentaro said, but Aran just gave him a wink before he joined Kochi and Juri.

“He will never change,” Kentaro said while shaking his head.

“So he had this attitude already back with you then I guess,” Hagiya said with a chuckle.

“By the way how did you two meet?” Kentaro asked curiously and Hagiya looked at him as if he hadn’t understood the question for a brief moment, but Kentaro just waited.

“Oh, we didn’t meet that long ago. I don’t know that much about him to be honest, we met at a street fight event and decided to try to enter a real fight club after that together.”

It sounded like one of the typical Underground stories, because that was actually how most of them met, somewhere stuck in some kind of mess. But before he could ask him more about his own past he heard the other three cheering and Juri gave Kochi a high five and turned to Aran with a bright smile, but when he realized that Aran was looking at him with a teasing smile he growled and looked away, pretending as if nothing had happened.

“I knew those two would just need some time to get friends,” Tegoshi said as he stepped next to Kentaro and Hagiya. Kentaro nodded, because he had just waited as well for them to finally stop challenging each other.

“We are going out tomorrow,” Aran announced as he walked back to Kentaro on which the boy shot Nikaido a confused glance, but the latter was on his way to talk to Massu.

“Guess those two will be with you then?” Tegoshi concluded and Aran nodded.

“What did you tell him that he said yes?” Kentaro asked confused on which Aran shrug his shoulders.

“Maybe that you really wanted to go?”

“What? I didn’t say that!”

“But you are our best shot when it is about convincing Nikaido.”

“A fast learner,” Tegoshi admitted while Kentaro shot his friend a death glare.

“Oh come on, it’s been a long time since we went out for a club together, let’s just enjoy it. Hagi-chan will come as well, right?”

“Of course,” the other one replied with a bright smile, but Kentaro could just roll his eyes. With all of them going out there were even higher chances of them running into trouble, but he couldn’t deny that he didn’t want to spend some carefree time away from the club again. Especially together with Aran, because they had done so before a lot as well.

***

“I warn you once more, if you cause any kind of trouble I make sure we all leave right away,” Nikaido warned them again and everyone made sure to not piss him off right from the start. Tegoshi had joined them as well, but Nikaido had made clear that he and Massu were hear to keep an eye on the boys and weren’t allowed to vanish inside the toilets after a few drinks.

“You know that he lied to you, don’t you?” Kentaro asked Nikaido after the other boy’s scattered around the dancefloor and the counter.

“Of course I do. I know you well enough after all. You are not the type to need this type of distraction right before a tournament,” Nikaido said before he got him and Kentaro a drink and moved to a free couch in a corner. Aran was busy enough with showing off in front of the others with his dance moves, because even though he wasn’t dancing professionally like Kentaro he had to admit that the boy knew how to move. So for now Kentaro could leave him to the others.

“Are you worried because of the upcoming tournament?” Nikaido asked him and Kentaro nodded, because he would be fool if he wasn’t worried.

“This new system sounds kind of ridiculous to me, but I can understand why Nakai still accepted the challenge. With us being the top fight club we can’t just deny challenges easily or it looks like we are running away.”

It was unfortunately the truth and Nikaido took a sip from his bottle instead of replying, because if he could he would have taken Kentaro out of the tournament already.

“Ken-chan, come dance with us!” Aran shouted over to them, but Kentaro just gave him a brief smile and waved his hand in front of his face. Unfortunately Aran wasn’t the type to give up easily so he walked over to them and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a pouting expression.

“After all the time you should do me the favor,” Aran said in between trying to sound scolding and making puppy eyes at the same time.

“Such a shame Kentaro is not the biggest party maker among us,” Juri replied laughing as he walked up to them together with Kochi. Hagiya seemed to be more of the quiet type and had walked up to Massu and Tegoshi, talking to them at the bar.

“Not a party maker, what? Then you guys must normally go even crazier, right? Because until now you are nothing compared to the way Ken-chan can get out of control at clubs!”

“Oh really?” This time it was Nikaido who asked and it made Kentaro turn to him with a kind of apologizing smile.

“Let’s say I was a little bit more active when I was younger,” Kentaro said almost embarrassed.

“And here I thought we were just not the right company for you,” Juri let out with a laughter, but it actually made Nikaido’s face darken and Kochi bit his lip, knowing that he had actually made the situation worse even though he had tried to brighten up the mood. Kentaro gave Nikaido another weird look, but the older one tried hard to just ignore him, because he didn’t want to get angry, why would he? He wasn’t the type to run wild at clubs, why would he be angry if Kentaro did so with Aran?

“Come on Aran, let’s give the two lovebirds some privacy for now. He won’t dance in clubs anyways,” Juri tried his luck again and clapped Aran on the shoulder while pushing Kochi towards the dancefloor again.

“What? Are you telling me that you didn’t dance anymore? Your dancing is so beautiful. It’s a shame if you don’t show it.”

That was the biggest bomb he could have dropped for the whole evening and suddenly even Juri looked quite panicked hearing that. He shared a brief look with Kochi, but he just shrugged his shoulders, looking over at Kentaro in slight worry. The boy had completely frozen on his words, because there was no way Nikaido wouldn’t misinterpret them. He remembered perfectly how he had told Nikaido that he hadn’t danced in front of anyone since the end of the war. But the time with Aran was different. He didn’t dance for him in private like he did with Nikaido. It was just that he had been able to dance in clubs more freely, even with so many people around. He had somehow felt completely safe with Aran by his side at that time.

Nikaido let out a snort before he grabbed his bottle and took a sip as if nothing of this conversation would bother him at all, but Kentaro felt the guilt crawling up inside of him and it was reaching a painful level. Since Aran and Hagiya had entered the club almost two weeks had passed and somehow Kentaro had still not found the courage to talk to either of the two about the important topics and it made him feel like they were both running out of patience slowly.

“I am just not- You know, it’s...complicated…” Kentaro searched desperately for the right words, but the pressure put on him was too much to handle. He needed to talk in private and that as fast as possible, but there was no way either Aran or Nikaido would get easily convinced to listen at the moment. While Aran was just too hyper and couldn’t really read the atmosphere and wouldn’t just leave now, Nikaido had turned quiet, even more than usual, which was already at a dangerous level, so if he wanted to talk now then he risked that he might explode.

Fate seemed on his side when he got rescued out of his pinch from two well-known boys which jumped on Kochi and Juri with a loud greeting, almost spilling the drinks they have brought with them.

“What a coincidence to see you guys here,” Myuto shouted while he pulled Juri into a hug who seemed to have forgotten about their conversation completely as he shouted back at him with the same cheerful attitude. Kochi tried to keep a little bit calmer to not drag all the attention towards them, but with Fukka almost jumping on his back that wasn’t easy.

“Kentaro, you actually tagged along for once in a while?” Fukka asked without knowing that it would make them return to the same dark topic than before, but then Fukka’s look fell on Aran and he tilted his head in confusion, because the boy was standing right next to Kentaro, making it clear that he was somehow part of the group.

“And you are?” The question wasn’t posted in an offending way and Aran smiled at him.

“I’m Aran, a new fighter at their club.”

“The same as the blonde boy over there with Tegoshi and Massu. His name is Hagi,” Kochi explained and Myuto and Fukka took a quick look at him before they looked at each other with a weird smile.

“What?” Juri asked with a raised eyebrow on which Myuto chuckled, but gained a punch on the shoulder from Juri when he still didn’t say anything.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“It’s just that we also got new fighters in both our clubs, but compared to your new members I guess we will have a better chance at the next tournaments,” Fukka explained teasingly on which Kochi escaped the next chuckle which made them turn towards him.

“Why is that? You want to share you information about your “oh so awesome” fighters with us then?” Kochi asked challenging and that was when Juri also smiled, because he knew what Fukka and Myuto would think off Aran and Hagiya, judging by their first impression.

“Sure why not,” Myuto started. “We got one new fighter and he seems awesome. He is extremely tall and about the same age as Ueda and if you might wonder, yes he is in the fifth class.”

Myuto crossed his arms in front of his chest with a proud smile while Kochi just nodded and looked at Fukka next.

“We got two new fighters and they are both in the fourth class, but one seems on his best way in the fifth one already. They are both in their twenties.”

“Which means you think our new members have no chance against yours, right?” Kochi concluded on which the other two shared a brief look and nodded in union. On which Juri let out a chuckle again.

“So you want to tell us about your fighters then?” Fukka asked challenging.

“Hagiya is in the third class, but on a good way to the fourth after the next tournament,” Kochi explained in a calm way, but of course the other two didn’t seem that impressed.

“And Aran…” On Kochi’s words the two turned around to the boy who looked at them with a teasing smile. “Maybe he should show his class instead of telling them?” Kochi asked challenging and looked at Nikaido who seemed still calm enough to spend their conversation attention. Nikaido looked at Aran for a brief moment who gave him a calm look before he waved his hand to everyone’s surprise.

“Do as you like, but I warn you, just because they are in another club you are not allowed to hurt them.”

“Are you serious?” Kentaro interrupted before Aran could even say anything and Nikaido looked at him with a neutral expression.

“Hey, you said yourself it’s not such a big deal and he seems to be perfectly in control of his own technique.”

Kentaro let out a growl on that and when Nikaido raised an eyebrow on his annoyed behavior everyone else shared a quick look.

“Come on then, bring it on,” Fukka challenged him to draw the attention back to them and he got into a defenses stance, but Aran shook his head when he stepped closer and took Fukka’s arm.

“You don’t even need to bother defending yourself, you won’t be able to anyways,” Aran said with a smirk and Fukka wanted to reply something, but then Aran moved so fast that the only thing that escaped Fukka was a hiss when he hit him fast and precise on the upper arm.

“Damn, could you warn me next- what the fuck….” Fukka wanted to lift his arm and point at him, but then he realized in shock that it wasn’t moving anymore.

“What happened?” Myuto asked curiously, but Fukka just pointed at his own arm in shock, so that Myuto moved and lifted it up, but when he let go, it just fell back down.

“What the hell?” Myuto asked now as well and when Aran stepped closer to him he automatically stepped back.

“Don’t worry it will be okay in like twenty minutes again. I didn’t want to ruin your evening so I went easy on you.”

“Is he joking?” Myuto asked towards Kochi, but the boy shook his head, now a triumphing smile on his face. “Trust me he can do way more and as a class five fighter he can be really scary.”

“Class 5?” Fukka and Myuto yelled in union on which Juri burst out laughing and finally Myuto spilled his drink as he waved with his arms and it landed half on Fukka who cursed and jumped to the side, ending with everyone else laughing even more. Kentaro also cracked a small smile and before he could complain Aran had grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him up.

“So when I get this right you are all getting along quite well, an even bigger reason for you to join us, come one!”

Kentaro shot a last look at Nikaido, but this time the older one tried to form something similar to a supportive look, so that he wouldn’t feel bad for having fun with them. After all he had been out with Fuma, Juri and the others before as well a lot. With a last apologizing look Kentaro let himself get dragged into the crowd of the dance floor, but he was sure that he needed to have a talk with Nikaido even more after this. Like this he felt like there was a crack opening between them and he couldn’t risk letting it grow bigger.

***

When Kentaro succeeded to get a third punch through Nikaido’s defense he finally retreated and let out a sigh.

“Hey, the training is still not over,” Nikaido complained, but didn’t stop Kentaro when he stepped out of the ring to get his water bottle.

Since the night at the club two more days had passed in which Kentaro had again succeeded perfectly in avoiding both persons he had to speak with the most. While Aran didn’t seem to mind that much and was getting along better with Juri and Kochi now as well his only problem was Nikaido. But his luck had left him when Nikaido had made him stay for a private lesson after the official training. Normally before a tournament they wouldn’t have their private lessons anymore to not be too exhausted. But there was no way Kentaro could have tried to run away again, because he had made Nikaido already angry enough. The way the older one was that unconcentrated made it clear even more. As more he was troubled because of something the less he would concentrate at their training. For everyone else he seemed normal, but since they had shared their first kiss and Taiga had made him realize how easily it was actually to see when Nikaido felt uneasy about something, he could read him perfectly.

“You mind if we stop for today? I am really tired,” Kentaro said and it wasn’t even a lie. He hadn’t  slept well over the last nights.

“Depends on what you want to do instead?” Nikaido asked as he stepped out the ring and put his gloves to the side. His look was telling him everything he needed to know and while Nikaido crossed his arms and leant back against the ropes, Kentaro remained a little bit on distance, searching for the right words to start.

“Aran was the only person I could trust at that time. With him I felt completely safe and it didn’t even matter if people were around us or not. So yes I went to clubs with him, because he liked them a lot and with him I didn’t mind.” Kentaro chose every word carefully and there was still no change on Nikaido’s face. After all it was a story of Kentaro’s past and he had told him that he could tell him whenever he felt like it. Not that he actually felt like telling him, but now that so many things were coming to the surface there was no way Nikaido wouldn’t get angry at him if he kept silent for longer, it would just make him more suspicious.

“And about the dancing...it’s not like I actually danced for him. As I told you I didn’t dance for anyone since the war, but of course I practice when I had time and one time he saw me. After that he was so fascinated that he wanted me to dance more in the clubs, because before he had seen me I had refused dancing in the clubs as well.”

“And here you are still refusing to dance even when I am in a club with you and that after you danced for me several times by now.” The hurt tone in Nikaido’s voice gave Kentaro an unpleasant shiver and he shook his head right away.

“This is different! I danced for you, because you wanted to see it and I kept dancing for you whenever I or you felt like it! It is something really precious to me! Thanks to the feelings I carry while dancing for you I got a huge step closer to get you back from the Fire Foxes back then,” Kentaro added, remembering how he danced in front of Kamenashi, but actually danced for Nikaido at that time. Nikaido’s face darkened a little bit on the mention of that dark chapter of their lives, but he still let Kentaro continue without interrupting again.

“Dancing in a club with Aran, because he wanted me to doesn’t have the same meaning. I never danced for real in a club, there was not enough space anyways and Aran never asked me to. He just liked it to see when I would relax and let go.”

“So how much did you let go around him?”

There it was the slow, but steady way towards the topic Kentaro didn’t want to talk about. He stayed silent for a moment and hugged himself, stroking up his own arms as if he felt cold which was true, because the training room wasn’t that warm anyway. But the reason his body started shaking was a complete different. Out of a sudden he felt stupid for even feeling that nervous, it’s not like he had done something forbidden, it was a completely different chapter of his life.

“We felt safe around each other, after all we were a really good team and always had each other’s back. Okay, until I ran away like a coward…” Kentaro added in a low voice, but this wasn’t actually what he wanted to discuss now and definitely not the part Nikaido wanted to hear. He kept looking to the ground as if he hoped that Nikaido would just let him off like this, but it didn’t happen and when he looked up again Nikaido burned him with an impatient stare. Sneaking around the topic would actually make him more suspicious that was clear, so Kentaro moved his hands through his hair with a sigh before he took a few steps towards Nikaido and found the courage to speak again.

“At some point we grew closer than just friends, but it was towards the time of our last job and after that I ended up at the street fight and you know the rest of the story.”

“How much more than a friend was he to you?”

“What?” This time Kentaro stared at him in disbelieve, because just for a brief moment he had felt relieved that he had finally told him and now he was asking for details? Without being able to control himself Kentaro let out a disbelieving chuckle, but he fell silent again when Nikaido pushed himself off the ropes and made a few steps towards him, so that they were standing right in front of each other.

“Is there nothing to tell or do you just don’t want to tell me?” Nikaido’s tone was still neutral, his behavior calm, but Kentaro knew that he was ready to freak, which made him react snappier than he had intended to, but after all he had hoped that Nikaido would have been satisfied with just the fact that Kentaro told him that there was actually something between them.

“If you want any dirty stories, I am sorry to disappoint you, but there are none,” Kentaro shot at him mockingly on which Nikaido gave him a warning glare. “What? What else did you want to hear? It is part of my past and has nothing to do with us, so why even bother getting into details?”

“Because it might not be a part of the past for him?”

This time the chuckle that escaped Kentaro was even louder and he couldn’t stop from shaking his head in disbelieve.

“You are jealous!”

“Pardon?”

“You knew from the beginning that I hid something about us and now you are afraid that I could run back to him, so you try to figure out as much as possible about our past so that you can prevent anything from happening.”

“Don’t be stupid. Yes I knew that you didn’t tell me something, because it was written all over your face for the last weeks, but you should know the best that I trust you.”

Kentaro rolled his eyes at that statement even though he tried desperately to fight his own childish attitude, because wasn’t he right? Hadn’t he all right to worry? What was the meaning of having a fight over the worries they both shared?

“Kentaro, we both went through hell together. You really think I would doubt you that easily?” Nikaido’s sudden soothing voice made Kentaro snap out of it again and he looked up at him with an apologizing look. They were both stressed through the arrival of Hagiya and Aran and worried because of the tournament, not to forget that Nikaido had to carry the burden as a trainer, which he wasn’t used to. They shouldn’t get shaken that easily anymore by random happenings after all they have faced.

“I’m sorry,” Kentaro let out honestly and he faced the ground again while playing with the seam of his shirt, slightly embarrassed by his own words he had thrown at the other one. “We never shared more than a few kisses. We were still at a really unstable first stage when we had to part. Nothing serious ever happened.”

Now it was all out in the open and at least all the burdens regarding that topic were off his shoulders.

Before he could look up again Nikaido had made another step towards him and pulled him into a hug. It was gentler than he was used to, but he enjoyed it the most when Nikaido tried to act this calm around him and when he stroke over his hair he closed his eyes for a moment, resting his head against the other one’s chest.

“I should have told you right at their arrival, maybe even before that.”

“You told me now, so don’t worry. As you said it is a part of your past and I am sure you can handle it. At least it’s nothing bad, right? You are pretty good in overcoming hardship, so it should be even easier to handle a positive reunion like this.”

Of course it should, if there wasn’t this one feeling inside of him which made it so hard to act as a normal friend next to Aran. But that was something he had to discuss with Aran first and luckily Nikaido seemed satisfied with what he had told him. If there was more to tell or not he had to see after talking to Aran, which he would prefer not to happen, but there was no way he could run away all the time or that Aran would let him run away for much longer.


	6. Chapter 6

_“Ken-chan, come back here,” Aran whispered in a scolding tone, but as always Kentaro wouldn’t listen. He never listened to him on their missions and that was normally how the missions worked out in the end._

_Waiting for a good timing Kentaro paused at the next container, while the guards in front of the old warehouse building were moving up and down, leaving no space for him to enter. He turned towards Aran who was still hiding behind the container further away and just one look made the boy roll his eyes, because he knew what he wanted. A diversionary maneuver! Aran took a quick look around and found a metal bar which he picked up and gave Kentaro a nod._

_After he was sure that Kentaro was ready he vanished behind another container and hit the metal bar against it. Three of the two guards rushed over to find out what was going on and the other one was too distracted to even see Kentaro as he dashed inside the building right behind him._

_Hiding behind a few boxes he made sure not be seen by the people which were inside the building. Luckily there were just three of them and they all seemed busy with counting their illegal acquired money, so that Kentaro could easily sneak towards the other table where a black suitcase was placed. They never really got information about what they were stealing, but as long as he would get payed for what he was doing and he and Aran would get back without problems he didn’t care._

_With a swift movement he snatched the suitcase away from the table and wanted to dash outside again, but when he turned around he was stopped by the man who had been guarding the door. With a gasp Kentaro tried to make a step back, but the other one was already too close and grabbed him by the wrist._

_Kentaro used the suitcase to lunge out for him, but the result was as expected not as he had hoped. The man stopped his attack easily and the next moment the suitcase got ripped out of his hand from one of the other men which had of course realized by now what he was up to._

_“Oh we have a rat here,” one of them said dangerously as they circled around Kentaro who was already panicking, because he had barely a chance against one opponent, how was he supposed to handle four?_

_“You might want to tell us who sent you?” The one holding on to him asked, but of course Kentaro stayed silent._

_When he wanted to reach out for Kentaro’s other hand as well he tried to make him let go and kicked him against the knee and he really succeeded in loosening his grip enough to pull his wrist out, but he got kicked to the ground from one of the others right after._

_“Do you really think we will let you leave that easily?” One of the others asked when he crouched down in front of Kentaro and draw out a knife. When he moved it with the flat side over Kentaro’s cheek the boy flinched, but didn’t dare to try and get up. “Guess you will have to play with us for a while if you don’t want to talk.”_

_“Sorry, but he is not playing with anyone other than me.”_

_Kentaro had to look over his shoulder to see Aran standing in the door and seeing him unharmed made him feel relieved. Sure, he was the fighter of them, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t worry if he left Aran behind to do the dirty work._

_“Then you should maybe learn to share,” another one said as he walked up to him, completely sure to win against him as he lunged out for a punch, not even bothering with a proper defense and that was when Aran dodged his attack and hit two accurate hits on the latter’s knees as he ducked away under the attack. The other one wanted to turn and get a grip on him as he walked casually passed him, but then his knees gave in and he found himself on the ground. His gang members seemed taken aback all of a sudden, but the leader who was still next to Kentaro shouted at them to attack, so that the other two dashed forward at the same time._

_This time Aran had to watch out not to gain a few hits while trying to get through their defense, because they were trying hard to not let him come too close, after seeing that their comrade was still unable to get to his feet. But again it didn’t take Aran long to find a way through their defense as well and they both ended up the same way as the other one._

_“So now the only one left to share is you, but sorry I doubt he prefers your company over mine,” Aran said teasingly as he walked slowly over to the leader and Kentaro had to try hard to not shake his head on his overconfident attitude._

_“Stay away!” The leader shouted at him, but of course Aran wouldn’t listen. The other one had made a few shaking steps backward, but then his look fell on Kentaro who was up in a sitting position, but hadn’t moved more until now, which had been a mistake as he realized too late._

_Aran wanted to dash forward the same moment Kentaro tried to get up and run over to him, but the other one was faster and dragged him back on his jacket as he was up and put the knife to his throat. Kentaro felt so stupid for not seeing this coming earlier, after all the gang leader had been next to him the whole time. He moved his hands around the other one’s arms and tried to lower the knife, but as always he wasn’t strong enough to do so._

_“Stop struggling or I will slit your throat right away,” he let out threatening on which Kentaro looked over to Aran who shook his head and Kentaro finally tried to calm down._

_“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but your men won’t get up anytime soon and the two other guards won’t come back that soon either,” Aran tried to reason with him._

_“Means I can just take care of him and then of you it seems.”_

_“No, stop!” Aran made an intuitive step forward when the other one brought the knife closer to Kentaro throat, but when Kentaro let out a hiss the moment the knife sliced through his skin as a warning, Aran stopped._

_“Come on you still have your stupid suitcase, just let us go.”_

_“You think I am stupid?” The leader yelled at him and dragged Kentaro back with him while Aran tried desperately to find a way to solve this mess. He was really good in getting himself out of many situations, but it was different when someone else’s life was at risk, especially when it was Kentaro’s._

_But that hesitation was actually what fueled Kentaro’s will to get out of the situation himself, because all the time he had to rely on Aran. Yes he had declined the offer to let Aran give him proper fight training, but it was to keep them together. And if he wanted them to be a team for longer he had to make sure to get them both out of here. Aran seemed to have noticed the sudden change in his look and he wanted to shake his head, but Kentaro already moved._

_With the next step the other one made, Kentaro took a grip of his arm again and jumped backwards. The other one let out a curse, but couldn’t stop their fall and the other one landed with his back on the ground with Kentaro on top of him. Kentaro tried to get off him while still holding on to the arm holding the knife and he almost succeeded as he was already sitting on his knees next to him, but the other one was faster and let the knife drop just to catch it with his other hand. He was up in a sitting position at the same time and Kentaro gasped as he failed to get away in time as the other one lunged out directly towards his face._

_But then he saw the movement next to him as he had expected to see it. It had been clear from the start that Aran would move, because he had already read what he was planning. But both of them hadn’t calculated in that they were maybe not the only ones able to read their plan. Kentaro’s eyes grew wide as the gang leader redirected his attack at the very last moment and even though Aran tried to go on distance he was already too close to avoid the attack. He had actually planned on attacking his arm, so that he would have been forced to drop the knife, but he hadn’t thought that the attack could be redirected at him this fast. The knife sliced over Aran’s cheek before he could get away and the boy let out a yelp as he jumped back. Even though Kentaro was shocked by the sudden failure of their plan he reacted immediately this time and used the other one’s distraction to kick him away and he landed on his side while Kentaro jumped up and dashed over to Aran who was holding one hand over his cheek which was bleeding pretty badly. It hadn’t been just a small cut as on Kentaro’s neck. The knife had buried deep in his skin and Kentaro was sure that this wound actually needed to get stitched as soon as possible._

_“You little brads,” the other one shouted as he got up and dashed towards them once more. Kentaro pulled on Aran’s sleeve and wanted to make him run, but of course the younger one wouldn’t listen. He made Kentaro let go and dashed forward, getting the knife out of the other one’s hand right away and instead of using his typical technique he kicked him into the stomach first and hit him with his elbow on the neck so that he fell unconsciously to the ground. His eyes showed that he would have actually liked to punch him even more, but he seemed to have enough for one day and he turned around and grabbed the suitcase from the table before he took Kentaro by the wrist and dragged him outside._

_“Aran, slow down. We are not being chased,” Kentaro begged him after he kept pulling him through the streets, even though they were already in their own territory again. Aran sighed, but let go of Kentaro finally and sat down on the small stone wall which was left of a destroyed building._

_“Let me see your wound,” Kentaro said and moved his hands carefully towards Aran’s chin to make him look to the side. The blood was running down to his collarbone already and unfortunately he had nothing clean enough with him to actually stop the bleeding for now. “We have to get back right away and ask someone to stitch it for you.”_

_Kentaro was already getting ready to keep going when Aran reached out for his wrist to stop him. The older one looked at him in slight concern, but Aran remained silent. “Are you feeling too bad to walk the rest? I can carry you. It’s no problem, just-”_

_He had expected a lot when Aran pulled him closer out of a sudden. Getting scolded, maybe even getting hit or a hug would have been possible as well, but a kiss had been the last thing he had thought of._

_Aran had pulled him down with one hand in his collar and the other one on the back of his neck. The kiss was short and hesitant, but also way softer than Kentaro would have ever imagined it from Aran._

_There was not even the time for Kentaro to decide how to react before Aran backed off again with a weird expression on his face. If it was someone else Kentaro would actually say he seemed embarrassed, but it was Aran after all and the boy was the most straightforward and open person he had ever met._

_“What was that for?” Kentaro wanted to hit himself for the stupid question, because how many reason could a kiss have?_

_Aran chuckled on his question and smiled up at him, even though he couldn’t smile as bright as usual, because it would actually make the pain of the cut on his cheek even worse._

_“I thought about doing it for some time now, but today I realized that if I kept thinking about doing it instead of really going through with it, I might miss my chance.”_

_It gave Kentaro an unpleasant sting to hear the fear in Aran’s voice, but it also made him feel kind of proud, because Aran who was such a tough guy and almost hated him at the beginning was now openly telling him that he didn’t want to lose him._

_It wasn’t like Kentaro hadn’t have his own moments when he caught himself staring at Aran way more intense than he should, but he would have never imagined that the boy could in any way feel the same._

_Without giving it any second thoughts he leant down to Aran and lifted his head up carefully, watching out not to touch his wound and gave him another kiss. Aran closed his eyes and responded right away, his hands now back on the older one’s clothes as if he couldn’t believe that he wasn’t pushed away after his confession._

_“I should make sure that we get even more chances for this from now on then,” Kentaro said as they parted again and Aran nodded with a relieved yet sheepish smile. It was a complete new side he showed suddenly, but Kentaro couldn’t deny that he liked that slightly insecure side of him. “Let’s treat you for now, okay?”_

_There were no complaints heard from the other one as Kentaro helped him up again. After all they would have a lot of time to get closer to each other now that they had both finally dared to accept that they felt more than just friendship for each other._

This time the dream didn’t gave him a headache, but made him pull up the covers over his head, because that was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of at the moment. It had been the same night he had talked to Nikaido, so he wasn’t even surprised that he dreamed of it.

When he removed the covers from his face he closed his eyes for a brief moment, but as expected it was no use. Again he would need to get up to calm down.

When he was about to step out of his room he heard voices at the end of the corridor and he remained at his half opened door to listen.

“I really liked that shirt and that idiot totally ruined it.”

“Told you from the beginning not to wear white in one of their clubs! There are always too many people and also a lot of fights going on. You can be happy that he was such a nice boy and apologized instead of picking a fight.”

“He can be happy that I didn’t start a fight with him instead.”

Kentaro could identify Hagiya’s and Aran’s voices right away, but somehow he didn’t feel like having a talk with them. Again they had been out together and no one even knew about them going out all the time, so why bother and catch them at their private party nights? When he couldn’t hear their voices anymore he finally dared to step outside his room.

When he reached their common room, wanting to get something to drink he stopped in the doorframe with a confused look when he found Tegoshi sitting at one table, with a slice of bread half hanging out of his mouth while reading some newspapers.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Kentaro asked as he walked up to him on which the latter finally swallowed half of the bread and put the rest down on his plate again.

“It’s already morning, at least for me. You know that I wake up early.”

Kentaro turned to look at the clock at the wall and it was really already morning, okay 5 o’clock wouldn’t count as morning for everyone, but it was definitely Tegoshi’s usual time to wake up.

“Can’t sleep anymore?”

“Mh? Yeah, kind of,” Kentaro replied as he sat down at the table on the opposite side and put his head down on his arms for a moment.

“That still looks kind of tired to me, you know? Did something happen?” Tegoshi asked worried as he put the newspaper to the side and rested his chin on his palm with a calm smile. “Want to talk about it?”

Kentaro let out a sigh and fell with his back against the backrest of the chair. “I am not sure if there is something to talk about or more like if the person still wants to listen to what I have to say.”

“Oh, that sounds serious already.”

“It’s nothing bad! At least not for me. It’s just...complicated.”

“And it is definitely connected to Aran.”

Kentaro couldn’t even look as shocked as he wanted to, because of course it was obvious. They all met Hagiya for the first time and with Aran being the only one knowing Kentaro even better than Nikaido it was clear.

“I already talked about the topic with Nikaido,” Kentaro explained, Tegoshi seemed to have guessed that, but his look still told him that he knew more than he should. Not that he actually knew anything specific he was just awesome in reading people, so awesome that it was already annoying.

“And did you tell him everything?”

“Everything that was worth telling I guess…” Kentaro said, but couldn’t even make himself believe his lie and again he let out a sigh and put his face into his palms with a groan as he fell to the front again.

“Means as much as you told him what you thought was necessary and the rest is now haunting you, because you know you should tell him the rest as well, but something is stopping you.”

“And let me guess you already know what that something is?”

And of course Tegoshi grinned at him on which Kentaro shook his head. How could he read everyone so easily? If he could use that strategy in the ring even more then he would be in the 4th class as well in no time.

“There is no need for me to lecture you about it. You seem to be pretty aware of it yourself. The question is if you know how to deal with it?”

“Running away from it, maybe? Hiding? Or just ignoring it would be the best method I guess.”

Tegoshi let out a chuckle on that, which resulted in an angry stare from Kentaro. But Tegoshi smiled at him apologizing before his expression turned more serious. “Trust me when I tell you that ignoring or hiding isn’t the right way. I tried and I failed. In the end it didn’t just hurt me, but Massu as well.”

“Your situation was different though,” Kentaro said as he started to twist his fingers around each other nervously before Tegoshi stopped him and put his hands over his.

“Yes it was different, I can’t deny that, but when it is about feelings you have for someone you can’t just ignore them. For you it is more complicated, because you are kind of in the middle of a crossroad not sure which way to go, but just standing still will make both sides wait. The more they wait the more impatient and insecure they will get and that doesn’t just apply for Aran.”

Kentaro’s look darkened a little bit on his words, because he felt way too exposed out of a sudden. Nikaido had told him that he trusted him, but how could he say that if he couldn’t even trust himself? Tegoshi saw his insecurities right away, so Nikaido was obviously just trying to ignore them and give him time to finally find a way to handle things.

“But what if I just want to take a short look at one street of the crossroad to see if everything is alright and I can’t find my way back towards the other direction?” He felt almost stupid for not being able to voice out his worries directly, but Tegoshi understood him whichever way he chose to talk about it.

“As long as you don’t forget which path had brought you to the crossroad you will be able to find back at any time. Except you want to continue on that new path and leave the crossroad behind. That is something you have to decide yourself.”

Just hearing that possibility from Tegoshi made a cold shiver ran down his spine. It was really time to talk things out. There was so much to tell and so much to apologize for, but what if he didn’t want to hear it anymore? What if there was a huge wall blocking that street of the crossroad? But he had to find out how to overcome it himself then. At least now he was sure that he couldn’t wait any longer, especially because the tournament was close and they needed to concentrate for it, so all unnecessary tensions between them should be gone by then.

“Don’t overthink this, okay? Just see what happens instead of freaking yourself out so much that you can’t properly sleep anymore! Nikaido will scold you if you are in such a messy state at the tournament!”

Kentaro escaped a small chuckle on that, because he was right. Maybe he was really overthinking the problem too much. He just had to finally get his own thoughts into order to know what to do.

“By the way why isn’t Massu here? Isn’t he normally awake early as well?” It wasn’t like Kentaro tried to get the attention away from his problems, but either way Tegoshi didn’t seem to mind as he formed a lopsided smile.

“Let’s say I kept him busy way longer than usual and just a few days before a tournament he needs to rest some more, otherwise I will be the one who gets scolded if he loses.”

“Okay, no more details please,” Kentaro interfered right away, because Tegoshi wasn’t the type to feel ashamed of any private matters, so he needed to be stopped before the “too much information” part started. “I am just happy that it works out with you two so well.”

It was an honest thought and Tegoshi gave him a bright smile in return, because he obviously felt the same.

“We made each other wait long enough; it’s time to catch up with that lost time.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Don’t even say anything!” Massu warned Juri who was grinning at him, because he had just landed flat on the ground after one of Tegoshi’s precise foot sweeps.

“Shouldn’t you know his tactics by now?” Juri teased him while Massu got back up and rubbed his head, but turned towards Juri instead of Tegoshi, so that the boy jumped back and hid behind Kochi who scolded him right away.

“If you know his tactics that good come up here and fight him! I saw you falling in his traps several times as well!”

“But I am not a class 5 fighter!”

“Neither is Kentaro and he can also land some good hits on Nikaido recently,” Kochi reminded them before Massu just shook his head had returned to his sparring fight with Tegoshi.

“You could also have a really good chance against Massu,” Hagiya was suddenly heard behind them.

“Oh and you know that so perfectly, because?”

“Because I am good at analyzing and I guess Kochi told you so as well before, but as your friend you might have started ignoring his advice by now.”

“Advice, more like an endless reminder of how impatient I am,” Juri replied and rolled his eyes on which Kochi tried to hit him on the head, but Juri saw it coming and jumped behind Hagiya, stuck out his tongue on which Kochi dashed forward as well and tried to get a grip on him, but Juri kept running away until he reached the punching bags where he interrupted Aran as he dashed behind his bag and the boy took a startled step back before he started laughing as Kochi launched himself at Juri who reached out for Aran’s arm to not get thrown to the ground by Kochi.

“Okay, okay I give up,” Juri yelled as Kochi succeeded on pulling him away from Aran who didn’t really seem as if he wanted to help Juri in the first place, because he was still smiling at them teasingly.

Kochi smacked his finger against Juri’s forehead, gaining a whine from him. Hagiya stepped next to Aran with a loud laughter.

“You know what, how about we switch?” Hagiya suggested, making the others share confused looks. “I mean I am good at tactics and Kochi is as well, but Aran is not listening to me anymore, neither is Juri listening to Kochi! So let’s try it the other way around. I will help Juri and Kochi will help Aran with his training.”

The suggestion was something Kochi would totally agree to right away, but of course the other two had to agree as well.

“The tournament is in a few days and you both fight in it! That’s a really good chance for you two to get some last advice, so that you won’t lose,” Kochi said before the boys could even voice out any refusal.

“I won’t lose!”

The answer came simultaneous from Juri and Aran which shared a brief look which would have resulted in a fight just two weeks ago, but now there was no need to worry anymore.

“I know you are both extremely confident, but let’s just make sure you won’t disappoint yourselves, okay?” Hagiya tried again and this time Juri shrugged his shoulders which was his way of admitting that he was right.

“Then let’s get this over with. If Juri gets special training then I can’t risk losing,” Aran said as he dragged Kochi towards the ring where Tegoshi and Massu were about to end their sparring fight after Tegoshi had almost landed outside the ring after a strong kick from Massu. The ropes had stopped him from falling from the edge and Massu apologized right away, because he easily got too excited after someone landed a hit on him, which Tegoshi had done several times already.

“But Juri isn’t your opponent, remember that,” Hagiya scolded him before he pushed Juri towards the punching bags with a teasing smile and Aran laughed out loud before he dragged Kochi with him.

“They are getting along quite well recently,” Nikaido was heard next to Kentaro, who had taken a break at the back of the room and was stretching his legs on the mat. He had taken a look at the others the whole time with a light smile.

“I am really happy that they all get along. It’s quiet around the club recently,” Kentaro admitted as Nikaido sat down next to him.

Even though the other fighters weren’t competing in the upcoming tournament they were all excited about the new system and they were all allowed to come and watch which made the atmosphere lighter than usual. Everyone was talking about it. Many were laughing and giving the competing fighters advice.

“I wonder how Fuma would have done in such a tournament. He would have definitely loved to compete there,” Nikaido said with a nostalgic smile, but Kentaro could read more out of it.

“You wanted to say Senga, didn’t you?”

Not even surprised by Kentaro’s answer Nikaido nodded with a sigh, but his smile still remained. “He would have loved it the most of us. Challenges like that were his favorites and to be honest I would have loved to have him with me when going with all of you to that tournament. Sure Massu and Aran are amazing fighters, but Fuma and Senga were...how to say it...I trusted them blindly! Not that I wouldn’t trust Massu, because he was part of this club before as well, but it will take some time to integrate him into the club as before and Aran is new after all, but of course I trust him as well, because he is your friend.”

When there was no reaction from Kentaro, the older one looked up at him and received a teasing smile in reply.

“What?”

“You are nervous.”

Nikaido just escaped a small, almost embarrassed chuckle on that, but he couldn’t deny it. “Am I that obvious?”

“Let’s say you are not talking so much usually, especially not before a tournament. Before regular tournaments you turn everyone’s training into hell, but here you are sitting with me and talking about your worries. So yes you are obvious, but it’s okay. I like it better this way,” Kentaro said as he leant with his head against Nikaido’s shoulder.

“Who would prefer me yelling at them, when they can have me sitting around watching how they manage their own training?” Nikaido asked playful on which Kentaro chuckled.

“True, so maybe we should make this a routine. You are not allowed to interfere in their training two days before the tournament anymore.”

“Great, so when we lose Nakai will blame everything on my lag of ability as a trainer. Guess we have to get Ueda back when I get fired.”

This time it wasn’t a chuckle anymore, but a loud laughter that escaped Kentaro on which his friends turned towards them with teasing looks and Nikaido coughed before he pushed Kentaro away on the shoulder with a played angry look, which actually made him laugh even louder.

“You want some private time?” Tegoshi asked with a lopsided smile.

“I will give you private training if you don’t mind your own business,” Nikaido warned him and that was all it took for all of them to turn back to their training, but they still kept their smiles, which was actually what made Nikaido smile as well.

“Guess I should train some more as well,” Kentaro said still chuckling as he wanted to get up, but Nikaido pulled him down once more and gave him a short kiss on the lips. So short that no one had actually seen it.

“What was that for?”

“Maybe an appetizer? If you want more you are always allowed to come and get it later.”

With that Nikaido got up first and Kentaro tried to hide a sheepish smile as Juri and Kochi grinned at him. They didn’t even need to actually see them anymore. It was obviously to them when they did something behind their back.

***

The relaxed atmosphere continued over the whole day which made Kentaro return to his room with a smile in the evening. He could have taken a shower at Nikaido’s room, but he had decided to take a shower right after training, because who knew if he found time for a shower after stepping inside Nikaido’s room if he decided to spend him a visit later, because of the obvious invitation.

Nakai had called Nikaido and Massu over for a meeting after the training so he would need to wait a while longer to sneak over to his room or maybe Nikaido would show up at his. So for now he wanted to change into some comfortable clothes, after all they would end up somewhere on the ground sooner or later anyways.

When a knock on his door was heard Kentaro wondered if the meeting could have really ended that fast and his question was answered the moment he opened the door and Aran grinned widely at him.

“Hey,” Kentaro said kind of confused, because somehow Aran had stopped quite fast after his arrival to show up in front of his door. They had talked about a lot in the first days, first in the med room or in the common room, later also in Kentaro’s or Aran’s room. But now that he thought about it, since he had feared that the complicated topics could come up and he had gone on distance, Aran had also stopped coming over for private talks.

“Can I come in or am I banned to the corridor?” Aran asked after Kentaro didn’t make a move to let him in, which was more because he still seemed kind of confused and not because he didn’t want him around.

“Sure, come in,” Kentaro said and stepped to the side. Aran moved towards Kentaro’s wardrobe right away, which confused him even more, but he didn’t stop him when he opened it and searched through all the clothes.

“Your taste is as boring as usual,” Aran concluded after a while on which Kentaro raised an eyebrow behind his back.

“And that is of your concern, because?”

Suddenly Aran escaped an approving hum, before he turned around and threw a shirt and a pair of pants at Kentaro who caught it at the last moment and right before the pants could land on his face instead.

“Because we are going out!”

“We are what?”

“Going out! You and me, now!” It wasn’t like he had a bossy tone, because he still carried his wide smile, but there was no space for any kind of refusal which made it even harder for Kentaro to find the right response.

“Why would you want to go out all of a sudden?”

“Because I heard that we are not allowed to go out at the last day before the tournament, so this is our last chance.”

“Actually we are not allowed to go out for the past two weeks without asking Nakai or Nikaido,” Kentaro explained, even though he knew that Aran was aware of that, which made him eye his friend suspiciously. “You want to sneak out?”

“I’m too easy to read, aren’t I?”

“Do you know how much trouble we could get ourselves in? We are both participating in the tournament, what if we get hurt?”

“I am not planning on getting in any fight! I just want to spend some time with you again. You seem so far away over the last weeks.”

The hurt in Aran’s voice was more than obvious by now, but that shouldn’t be a reason for Kentaro to say yes. He would get scolded even more than Aran if he tagged along. After all he was a member of this club way longer.

“We can just have a talk here if you want, it’s the easiest to-”

“It’s not the same! Kentaro come on, let’s just pretend we are back at our wild times! Just this once!” Aran stepped forward and took the clothes out of Kentaro’s hand to throw them on the bed before he took Kentaro’s hands in his, which made Kentaro tense even though Aran still didn’t lose his smile. “Don’t you think it’s just fair that after all this time you should do me just this little favor?”

“But why now? Serious Aran, we could have gone all the time! It’s not like you’ve been busy in the evening, were you?” The accusation was sharply visible in his question even though he didn’t know why he would even get angry at him for going out without him? He had withdrawn himself as well, hadn’t he?

“But you were busy…” Aran let out in a quieter voice this time and he let go of his hands before he stepped back with his smile slowly fading. “The rare times you were alone in the evening I could tell that you were in a bad mood, so I didn’t want to disturb you and the other times you were...with Nikaido.”

It shouldn’t get to him at all. Of course he was with Nikaido, why shouldn’t he? But on the other hand he also talked a lot to Tegoshi, Juri and the others when he had some free time. They went out to get food or just had long talks in the common room. Kochi, Juri and him also met up sometimes at Kochi’s room before to talk about strategies for the tournament. But seeing Aran that down out of a sudden made his whole stomach turn. What if he hadn’t gone out with Hagiya all the time out of fun, but because he needed distraction? Because Kentaro had put a glass wall between them out of a sudden?

Kentaro let out a sigh before he turned to the bed and got out of his shirt just to put the other one on. When he looked over his shoulder at Aran the boy’s look had turned questioning, but also hopeful.

“We return before the morning, is that clear?”

Aran let out a squeal instead of answering and threw his arms around Kentaro’s waist from behind. Kentaro let out a chuckle before he made him back off again so that he could change completely. Sure it could have waited until after the tournament, but who knew in what kind of physical shape they would be after that. And he had promised himself that he needed to have a talk with him after all and he definitely preferred it to be outside the club for it.


	8. Chapter 8

“Aran…”

“I don’t want to hear any complains! I know you like this drink,” Aran interrupted him as he dropped next to him on the couch at the end of the dance floor and handed him a drink, another one of already way too many.

“You said that about all the others before as well, but we are not here to get the hangover of our lives tomorrow. Nikaido will kill us if we feel like shit right before the tournament,” Kentaro warned him and put the drink down on the table for now. Aran hadn’t hold back either, Kentaro was sure that he had drank even more than him, but Aran was stronger with the alcohol, but slowly he felt how they reached a dangerous level.

Sure he had promised him to go out with him, but not to get wasted and luckily Aran didn’t complain as he didn’t drink right away, but gave him a teasing smile before he sipped on his own drink.

Kentaro caught himself staring at the other one for a while, but Aran didn’t seem to notice as his eyes were fixed on the dancefloor, his leg moving to the rhythm the band was playing. When the song changed he suddenly turned towards him and grabbed his arm so fast that Kentaro flinched.

“You remember that song?”

“Are we now a romantic couple dancing to our first song or what?”

“So you remember it!” Aran let out enthusiastic and Kentaro couldn’t keep from shaking his head, but with a nostalgic smile showing on his lips.

“It was the first time you actually made me dance in a club, of course I remember! It was so embarrassing you know? As if I could forget that.”

“Embarrassing? Ken-chan, your dancing is awesome! Come on, before they change the song again,” Aran said as he pulled Kentaro up on the arm.

“Aran, please I really don’t want to dance now,” Kentaro tried his luck, but of course Aran wouldn’t let him off this easily.

“Don’t you think that this is a pretty small request after all this time?”

Aran was a master in making him feel guilty and he couldn’t deny that it was something they did before as well, so yes it was something he could definitely do for him now as well. With a sigh he let himself get dragged to his feet and Aran pulled him towards the dancefloor with a bright smile.

The song was quite fast which made it easier for Kentaro to use his typical moves, but he had to watch out, because there were a lot of people around them and he didn’t want to hit anyone. After all a fight wasn’t what they needed now.

“You’re holding back,” Aran teased him after a while. Yes he did hold back, but it had been ages since he had dared to dance if it wasn’t in front of Nikaido and that was special after all. He loved it how Nikaido watched him with the same fascinated expression each time as if it was something he had never seen before no matter how often he had watched him.

Without a warning Aran stepped so close that Kentaro wanted to make a step back, but there were too many people to actually move away. When he observed Aran who danced around him way too close he recognized his own dancing style in his.

“You still remember?” Kentaro asked kind of surprised, but also with a proud expression, because after all Aran wasn’t just good with analyzing and learning fighting styles, he had also succeeded in copying Kentaro’s dancing in just a few days.

“As if I could forget something so special,” Aran replied as he span in front of Kentaro and let his hand travel over the other one’s cheek before he stepped back with an intense stare. His smile had suddenly vanished and without being able to explain it Kentaro felt challenged. He dared to make his moves more sharp and stepped closer to Aran as the latter wanted to go on distance. With the next spin he vanished behind Aran’s back and moved one hand to Aran’s hip and the later turned around on that move, but pushed him away instead of pulling him closer. Kentaro had switched into some kind of battle mode through that and he could feel how it got suddenly way too warm. But by now he wasn’t sure anymore if it was because of the dancing or the alcohol. It wasn’t that easy for him to concentrate on his regular moves, because he could feel how his balance was slightly messed up.

When Aran came closer again it was Kentaro who tried to push him away, but the latter wouldn’t let him and moved one hand to his shoulder to keep them close.

“What’s with the challenging attitude?” Kentaro asked him and the dark chuckle he got in response made a shiver ran through his whole body. It wasn’t the first time they ended up like this in a club, but it was definitely not what he had aimed for. They needed to talk and not to dance things out, because losing control out of a sudden was more than possible with the way they kept moving around each other.

“Who is challenging who here? You can always stop if you want,” Aran whispered right next to his ear as he had suddenly turned behind him and without knowing how his hands have even ended up on Aran’s hips, he left them there for a moment longer and closed his eyes. The younger one’s hand was suddenly brushing up his neck and to his face. When Kentaro turned his face to look at him his fingers landed on his lips and the touch burned him like fire.

If he had been in control of any body movement until now then he knew by his next move that he wasn’t anymore. His hands found their way to Aran’s hair when he turned back to him completely and he couldn’t control the wish of waking up forgotten feelings, to let his body experience the same tingling sensation it felt the first time they kissed. Their dancing stopped when Kentaro locked his lips with Aran’s, but it still turned kind of messy through all the people around them bumping into them from time to time and both were still breathing hard into the kiss. Kentaro backed off to take another breath, if possible to get back into control, but of course it wasn’t working and when Aran’s teeth pulled on his underlip to show him that he was obviously not willing to let him off like this, he threw all his remaining sanity overboard. He could think properly about what was happening later, but for now his past had caught up to him in the best way possible.

“Don’t stop here,” Aran whispered against his lips while his hands pulled him closer, groping his ass regardless the people around them. Without any hesitation Kentaro leant in for another kiss and Aran responded right away, his tongue impatiently licking over the older one’s lips. It didn’t take long for the kiss to turn way too deep and even messier than before. The wave of pleasure running through Kentaro’s body while he tried to pull Aran closer, even though they were almost touching at every body part already, was even more intense than he remembered it from the past times they had kissed.

With the next time they parted Aran grabbed Kentaro by the arm and dragged him away from all the people and before the older one knew what was going on Aran had led him to the toilets. Kentaro kissed Aran again the moment the boy had closed the toilet door behind them. There was a surprised gasp swallowed by the kiss when Kentaro pressed the younger one against the door, but instead of complaining, Aran’s hands reached out greedily for Kentaro’s shirt and found his skin on his belly right away.

“I’ve missed this,” Aran said with a smirk when Kentaro backed off to take another deep breath. While he halted for a moment Aran seemed to get even more impatient than before and he started opening Kentaro’s shirt button for button. Kentaro kept looking at him until the boy reached out for his pants, then he suddenly stopped him and shook his head.

“I’ve gone way too far already,” Kentaro let out in a low voice. It wasn’t like he didn’t know that he was cheating since the first kiss, but for him there were still different kinds of cheating. But he was already so far gone, his emotions putting a lot of pressure on him and the alcohol was making him more carefree than he wanted to feel.

“Don’t you dare to leave me behind again,” Aran scolded him, but his tone was still calm and kind of begging. His hands traveled back to Kentaro’s face, caressing his cheeks carefully. “Just one time.”

“Aran…”

“I won’t tell and you don’t have to either. Make it a one-night stand, but don’t push me away again. As much as you try to close your eyes, you still know that I need you right now, as much as you need me!”

The hurt in Aran’s voice as he was stuck between trying to stay calm and giving in to his craving gave Kentaro physical pain. He had left him behind without even letting him know that he was fine and that after they had finally reached a stage where they had been able to talk openly about their feelings. And now years later he was running away from the topic, not able to talk about it. But maybe that was the problem. Maybe it was really something that couldn’t be talked about.

“You won’t tell…” Kentaro whispered as he leant closer without even wanting to and Aran’s arms crossed behind his neck while he nodded, their lips already slightly touching again.

“I won’t and you don’t have to either.”

It shouldn’t make Kentaro relax, if anything it should make him feel alarmed and ashamed of how easily he was convinced, but just once he didn’t want to think too much about any consequences. It was just once after all and no one had to know, right?

When Kentaro moved again there was no hesitation left, but his actions have become rougher than before, more longing and even though Aran let out a muffled sound into their next kiss when Kentaro pushed him back against the door there was no way he would take it slow in any kind of way. This wasn’t a place to take it slow anyways and so his hands found their way to Aran’s pants and the boy responded with his hands also finding back to Kentaro’s pants, opening them fast and skilled. Kentaro’s shirt was open already, but none of them bothered with getting rid of it or stripping Aran out of his.

Something about the way Aran melted with every touch of his and every new kiss made him feel in a weird kind of control. When he pulled down the younger one’s pants and rubbed his hands over the fabric of his underwear, feeling his already hard cock, Aran let out a long breath and leant with his head back against the door. The way his silver strands fell in his eyes and his Adam’s apple was moving through his erratic breathing made Kentaro move closer again and just for a moment longer he wanted to enjoy this and not think about where they were and that they shouldn’t do this in the first place. He let his tongue travel over the boy’s throat and bit on his chin line, gaining a low groan from the other one in response. When Aran’s hands traveled inside the back of Kentaro’s pants to push them lower and grope here and there on the way, Kentaro bit him on the earlobe in response and moved his hand towards the seam of Aran’s underwear.

“Are you going to surrender to me?” He whispered into the younger one’s ear and a wave of satisfaction hit him when Aran nodded. Having their roles switched like this made it even more entertaining, after all there was no way Kentaro could force him into anything, but having him surrender was making his mind go blank. With a swift movement he turned Aran around on the shoulders and the boy supported himself with his hands on the door while Kentaro finally pulled both their underwear down as well. Aran struggled a moment to get his pants down under his knees to find a good position, but that didn’t stop Kentaro from moving one hand towards the boy’s lips.

“The preparation time is your decision,” Kentaro said challenging and Aran gave him a low chuckle before he took two of Kentaro’s fingers in his mouth. Kentaro bit his lip as he realized how aroused he already was through such a small action.

“Don’t take too long,” Aran replied teasingly before Kentaro pushed in one finger quite roughly and Aran’s words turned into a way too pleasured moan. Kentaro covered his mouth with his free hand to make sure that they wouldn’t get heard even more through the thin cabin walls. Aran didn’t complain, but he still let out a muffled sound when Kentaro entered a second finger, his movements rough and deep.

When he pulled his fingers out again he also removed the hand from Aran’s mouth, but made him turn his head as much as possible over his shoulder. The moment he entered him he also locked their lips together, making sure that the boy’s moans would get muffled through his tongue deep in his mouth this time.

He felt way too close after his first few thrusts already and while he felt like the worst person on earth somewhere in the back of his head he couldn’t care less. It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about going this far with Aran back at their time together, but before any of them could actually make a move his life got thrown out of balance. This could actually be called their redemption. After all Aran was right, he was the guilty one here! The one who had left Aran behind and pretended that nothing mattered anymore since he had found Nikaido, but now he realized that it mattered, maybe more than he wanted it to.

When they parted for air, it was Kentaro who escaped a moan and he put his lips on the boy’s exposed neck to muffle his own sounds and Aran threw his head to the back on the touch, but succeeded in remaining silent.

But when Kentaro suddenly reached out for him there was no way Aran could keep quiet, after all he was close already as well. While deepening his thrusts and giving Aran’s member long strokes at the same time, Kentaro tried once more to make them both stay quiet with a kiss, but it wouldn’t work for long and they had to part again, both way too close already.

“Do I have to shut you up when I make you come?” Kentaro asked him warningly as Aran already started shivering under his touch, but he shook his head and Kentaro dared to speed up his movements and with the next stroke Aran came with a low moan which he tried to keep as quiet as possible. Kentaro reached his climax a few thrusts later and buried his face on the boy’s back to muffle his sounds as well. It took both of them a felt eternity to come down from their climax and with their calm breathing pace coming back, some of Kentaro’s sanity seemed to find its way back as well and it made him feel nauseous all of a sudden.

Without losing any time he slipped out, making Aran flinch slightly on the sudden move, but for now his mind was drifting of elsewhere and he got dressed as fast as possible. Aran had barely time to get his pants up again, before Kentaro shoved him away from the door.

“Ken-chan…” Aran said worried as Kentaro wanted to dash out the toilet and he tried to grab him by the shoulder, but Kentaro twisted away from him and shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could say before he dashed out to the club. He had just managed to close two of his shirt’s buttons as the nausea from before came back stronger than before. Sure he had been in the toilet before already, but there was no way he would go back now. He needed space and time to clear his head and obviously his stomach.

As soon as he had reached the back door he vanished behind the next best trash bins to throw up. It took him several minutes to stop his body from shaking and as soon as he had his breathing pace back under control he let out one curse after the other. He was crouching on the ground, pulling on his hair as if he could make the situation undone like this.

“Stupid, I am so stupid….what did I do….” Kentaro wasn’t sure if he was even allowed to feel so conflicted, after all he knew that he would remember everything the next day, which meant he couldn’t blame it on the alcohol, at least not completely.

He let out an outraged scream when he got up again and kicked one of the trash bins away, but he had to reach out for the wall next, because his sense of balance seemed even worse than before.

“He won’t tell...I don’t have to tell,” Kentaro whispered while shaking his head with a weird chuckle escaping him. “How can I not tell…”

“Good question, you should know the best that you shouldn’t keep any secrets from him.”

Kentaro swirled around so fast that his body didn’t even try to keep its balance and he would have found himself flat on the ground if the person in front of him wouldn’t have caught him.

“Guess in your condition the scolding has to wait until tomorrow morning.”

“Kitayama….” There was nothing else Kentaro could say. The shock was written all over his face and he wanted the ground to split and swallow him right away. “What are you…, how did you…”

Kitayama just shook his head while still keeping a hold on the boy’s shoulders to make sure that he wouldn’t lose balance again.

“As I said, in your condition a serious talk wouldn’t make sense. Guess you will stay at the Fire Foxes tonight.”

Kentaro shook his head right away, knowing that everything would turn out even worse if he wasn’t back at the club in the morning. He wouldn’t be able to hide that he had been out, but hiding all the other details was another topic. After all Aran had promised not to say anything either, but they still had to tell the same, which meant they had to match their stories.

“I’ve to go back, I’ve to talk to Aran.”

Kentaro tried to push Kitayama out of his way, but as soon as he tried to walk to the door he felt how his body tried to force him down again and luckily Kitayama was fast enough to hold him as he almost fell to his knees. So he could blame more on the alcohol than he thought after all, but it wouldn’t make the damage less, so it didn’t matter.

“Leave him alone for now. I have no clue who he is, but after seeing you two dancing like this I guess he is no random person you just met today.”

“You saw us?”

“Kentaro, why do you think I am here right now? Yes I saw you, I also saw you vanishing inside the toilet and running out as if you had done the worst thing ever. Which might be true considering what shit you went through to get Nikaido back, but as I said let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“I have to return to the club,” Kentaro tried again, but Kitayama let out an annoyed groan and grabbed him by the elbow, dragging him away from the club before he could complain. 

“The boy will find his way back on his own, right? What was his name, Aran? I guess he is one of your new members, so he will know that you need some time on your own and I will make sure to inform Nikaido and the others in the morning that you are fine.”

“No, don’t tell him,” Kentaro begged all of a sudden, the desperation in his voice surprising himself. How had he failed feeling like this before he had done the biggest mistake of his life, now it wouldn’t help him anymore.

“I didn’t say I would tell him about you two, I will just let him know that you are fine. You will make things even worse if you return in the condition you are in,” Kitayama explained before he got out of his jacket and put it over the boy’s shoulders. Kentaro didn’t even realize how much he was shaking, but going back to get his jacket was out of question for now.

Again Kentaro wanted to complain, but he couldn’t deny that his mind was way too clouded to think straight and how was he supposed to face Nikaido like this? How was he supposed to face him at all? With a sigh of defeat he let Kitayama lead him away from the club. The older one was right, it was definitely better to first get back into a clear state of mind and get aware of the full consequences of his actions, before making the situation even worse. If there was even any chance of making it better again, after all he had messed up big time.

***

“So, what are you waiting for?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh come on Nikaido, you were ready to storm out the front door the moment Daiki told you that Kentaro is at the Fire Foxes’ hideout,” Massu said while Nikaido was still pacing up and down the training room. They both had been in the training room quite early in the morning, because Massu wanted to ask Nikaido for some last advice for the tournament, but then Daiki had suddenly come inside to both their surprise. Inoo, Daiki and Hikaru had become Kitayama’s most trusted men after they had all deeply apologized to them for bringing so much trouble through following Fujigaya’s orders.

When Daiki had told them though that Kitayama had brought Kentaro back with him after he had found him in a really bad condition Nikaido was ready to push Daiki out of the way and storm towards the hideout, but that feeling just lasted for a few seconds before he remained rooted to the spot and let Daiki leave like this, telling him that Kentaro could come back whenever he felt fine again. Since then he was walking up and down the room lost in his thoughts. It wasn't like he didn't know that Kentaro had been out, because he had found an empty room the evening before after the meeting with Nakai. But this outcome wasn't what he had thought of.

“Why are you not going?”

“Because I have to take care of your training.”

“What you are not doing and what you also not can in your condition. And would you finally stop moving, you are making me feel nauseous.”

Nikaido sighed and dropped on a stool next to the ring while Massu raised an eyebrow at him. “Come on Nikaido, what happened?”

“Nothing, why would you think something happened?”

“Ehm, because you normally would never leave Kentaro alone somewhere when you just heard that he isn’t well? You have no clue why he was out and you just got told that he is with Kitayama and don’t get me wrong, but I know that there are dozens of people you would feel safe with when they took care of Kentaro, but Kitayama is definitely not among them. So what happened between you two that you are not going?”

Nikaido stayed silent for a moment longer, but it was already more than obvious that Massu wouldn’t just let him pretend for longer that everything was okay.

“We had a talk about Aran and a few more or less private details about them got to the surface,” Nikaido started without revealing too much, because he didn’t really want to spill everything if Kentaro didn’t want the others to know.

“Oh, okay I get your point,” Massu interrupted him right away, so that he didn’t have to say more. “But what does it have to do with the situation he is in now?”

“To be honest I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. Alone the fact that he went out even without telling me with whom and after we had more or less the plan to spend time together that evening makes me worry that whatever is going on will get even worse if I show up there now.”

“Worse how? You think Kitayama is up to something?”

“No,” Nikaido stopped him right away, because even though Massu was right that Kitayama wasn’t really one of his most trusted friends, he was also sure that after everything that happened he wouldn’t be as stupid and tell him that Kentaro was with him if he was the one at fault for that in the first place. “But I also doubt that Kentaro went out alone.”

“Which makes you conclude that it was Aran he was out with?”

Yes of course he thought that and it didn’t take a genius to know that it was the most logical conclusion.

“But I still don’t get why you don’t want to see him? Why can’t you just go and pick him up? Aran doesn’t seem to be with him at the moment,” Massu asked still a little bit confused and waited for Nikaido to finally get up, but the latter shook his head.

“It might sound stupid...okay no it doesn’t sound stupid, it is stupid, but I fear that if I talk to him now and ask him what happened that he will lie to me,” Nikaido let out in a kind of hurt voice. Massu finally understood and bit his lip, nodding understanding after all those two had promised to not act behind each other’s’ back again, so one lie could already break their trust.

When Nikaido chuckled Massu tilted his head in confusion and Nikaido faced him with a kind of embarrassed smile. “Weird, isn’t it? The oh so high and mighty Nikaido is scared of being lied to.”

“You shouldn’t make fun out of yourself after all the shit we all went through to make you realize that exactly that kind of feeling is what you should hold on to,” Massu said, suddenly a hint of anger in his voice and Nikaido peered up at him when the older one stepped closer. “Kentaro went through a lot to open your eyes, not just towards him, but also to yourself and that is exactly what you always need to remember. It is completely okay to feel scared when it is about your relationship. Damn, I am scared every time I step into the tournament ring or if Tegoshi does! He could lose me or I could lose him and it scares the hell out of me! For you two it is definitely the same, but you have a different past! Getting lied to from the person you treasure the most is something that breaks both of you easily. It is the same for Tegoshi and me if we are forced to stay away from each other. Losing each other would be something we couldn’t deal with again, after spending such a long time apart. Keep feeling scared, but don’t let it tear you apart! Face it together with him, because that is what you two are good at! You lie to each other, you both shatter to pieces and then you fix it together!”

There was a heavy silence between them after Massu’s words, because they had been so true and so accurate that it almost scared Nikaido. But it had been also kind of weird, because Massu wasn’t normally the big talker, which also made a bright, almost teasing smile appear on Nikaido’s lips on which Massu looked at him skeptical.

“What? Are you making fun of me?”

“No, not at all. I am just impressed, because that was a talk which normally takes Taiga, Kochi and Tegoshi combined and you did it all on your own.”

That finally made Massu laugh as well and the heavy atmosphere was slowly resolving. They had both made their points clear, so Massu wouldn’t bother with Nikaido’s decision anymore, because he was sure that he had understood what he meant, but he still could understand that he wanted Kentaro to come to talk to him instead of him running after him.


	9. Chapter 9

The headache was the worst part when Kentaro woke up and he was more than thankful to find a water bottle next to the bed he was in. He sat up, taking a few sips from the water bottle...ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute…

As expected he hadn’t forgotten a thing and slowly every single moment crushed down on him like a huge stone trying to smash him to pieces. Before the water bottle could slip through his fingers he put it back on the table. He realized that he was still dressed completely. He pulled his legs up, hugging his knees as he tried to somehow get a clear head again, but of course it wasn’t working. It had been just one stupid dance, how had he lost control that easily? If he had been too drunk then he wouldn’t remember a thing, but he did and it made everything even more painful. He shouldn’t have given in. Neither Nikaido nor Aran had deserved the treatment he had just given them. Aran was more important than a stupid one night stand and Nikaido…

Nikaido would never forgive him, which made Kentaro let out a long sigh as he grabbed the sheets over his knees with shaking hands. How was he supposed to go back? He would never be able to hide it, even if Aran could do it.

When it knocked on the door Kentaro jolted and cleared his throat once before he could calm down again.

“Come in.”

Kitayama stepped in with a relieved expression as he saw Kentaro awake. He brought a plate with some food which was actually a quite funny picture, because his memories of Kitayama had never been of the calm and relaxing type, so having him smile all carefree at him and bringing him breakfast was indeed almost funny.

“How are you feeling? I thought you might want something to eat?”

“Wow, and here I thought all the Fire Foxes knew was how to cause trouble.”

“Mind you, I am an extremely good cook.”

“Oh now I even got breakfast made by the leader himself?”

Both of them chuckled when Kitayama put the plate on the nightstand next to the bed and sat down next to Kentaro. The Fire Foxes have left the former hideout and had a big Casino as their main hideout now. The quarters were extremely nice as Kentaro could experience himself at the moment, which showed that it had been a good idea to suggest Kitayama as the new leader. He was handling the business and also the members perfectly.

“I sent Daiki over to tell them that you are fine,” Kitayama announced the moment Kentaro took a bread slice from the plate. He halted, but still took a bite even though his look had darkened. “I am sorry that I have to have this talk with you right away, but we both know that with the tournament coming up tomorrow that sooner or later someone will come and bring you back.”

Kentaro didn’t reply, instead he shoved the rest of the bread in his mouth and took the water bottle again, but even though Kitayama waited patiently it was clear that he wanted answers. After all he deserved to know what was going on, because if it wasn’t for him Kentaro would have never gotten Nikaido back.

“What do you want to hear?” Kentaro asked carefully as he leant back against the pillows.

“How about the truth?”

“You told me that you saw me, right? So what else is there to tell?”

Kitayama sighed, but didn’t seem to get angry, if any his look turned disappointed.

“Kentaro, I know you. And you would never risk Nikaido’s and your happiness for some fun with a random person. How about you tell me who he is for now, maybe I can fight the urge to hit you for your stupidity easier that way.”

The words didn’t even surprise Kentaro, because Kitayama was good in showing that he was angry without getting actually aggressive. That he was disappointed in Kentaro was obvious and who wouldn’t? He had made sure that he would get Nikaido back and that even though he risked his own life on the way and also ignored his own feelings as well to make sure that Kentaro was safe. And all that to see him fail on the whole way and destroy all of his friends’ efforts.

“We were actually together a few years ago when I was still at another gang in the Underground. But things never got serious and when I got accused to be a thief and ended up at the fight club, things were cut in the middle and we never met again. At least until a few weeks ago when he and one other boy entered our club.”

Kitayama didn’t seem surprised, after all that was an answer he had wished for, something that could at least explain a small part of what had happened. Not that it would excuse his decision and once more Kentaro let out a sigh and buried his face on his knees.

“Was it the first time?”

“Oh you know I am sleeping around with him the whole week already and just felt bad about it yesterday out of a sudden,” Kentaro let out cynic on which Kitayama gave him a warning glare. “Sorry, I know it’s not the time to joke, but...I’m just- I don’t know! I really don’t know. I can’t explain what happened! I tried to talk to him over the last weeks. I even told Nikaido about our past, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it directly with Aran. I left him behind and I just moved on with Nikaido as if he had never existed. It wasn’t something I could have an easy talk about.”

“Even though the consequences would have been a lot less,” Kitayama added in a neutral tone. He wasn’t making fun out of him or accusing him, his look told the boy that he understood how hard it was to talk things like this out. It had taken him a long time as well to tell Kentaro the reason why he was protecting him and trying to bring him back to a safe place even though it meant that he was going to be the loser in the end.

“You must really hate me right now,” Kentaro said in a low voice and Kitayama didn’t interrupt him. “After all you have done for me and Nikaido I ruined everything, just because I wasn’t strong enough to handle things myself. I ran away from my responsibilities and didn’t care about any consequences, even though I knew it wasn’t just Nikaido I would hurt with it.”

Kitayama looked down to his own hands and made a grimace before he looked up to the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. Yes, he was obviously also angry and not just disappointed, but that was also a consequence Kentaro had to live with. “I cared for you a lot, I still do. The way you treasured your friends and wanted to protect everyone regardless what happened to you was extremely inspiring back then. It opened my eyes and made me realize that I was living a lie. I knew from the beginning that you were out of reach, but seeing that someone else was able to bring you out of balance and make you lose the right path was making me wonder if I have judged you wrong or if there is really someone who can influence you even more than Nikaido.”

“Both I guess,” Kentaro replied right away and with a defeated look. “I am not some kind of self-sacrificing white knight who comes to everyone’s rescue and yes I was easily brought to a breaking point this time and it was my own entire fault and I have to deal with the consequences, how painful they might be.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“How could I keep it a secret?”

That actually made a small smile appear on Kitayama’s lips which made Kentaro tilt his head.

“Exactly decisions like this make me still believe that I judged you right from the beginning,” Kitayama said and put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “We all make mistakes, some are bigger than others, but they all stay mistakes forever and we can’t redo them as much as we want to.”

Kentaro didn’t miss the shadow that passed over the older one’s face and he knew right away that he was talking about Senga. It made Kentaro’s stomach slightly turn, but yes this was exactly what Kitayama tried to make him understand. No one would ever forgive Kitayama for what he had done back then, but he had changed and he had done a lot of things to rescue everyone. For Kentaro the situation was different, but he also had something that was hard to forgive, but that didn’t mean that he had to keep going down that road. He had already accepted right away that it had been a wrong decision and of course there was a lot of pain and chaos on his way from now on, but he knew what the right thing to do was. He only needed to find the right timing.

“You won’t tell him, right?”

To Kentaro’s relieve Kitayama shook his head. “This is something you have to talk about with him and no one else.”

“I will, but I want to wait until the tournament is over. We all have to focus and if I cause a ruckus now, then the whole club might end up in trouble.”

“I totally get your point, but make sure to not postpone it too much.”

It was feeling weirdly liberating to talk to Kitayama about his feelings, even though he knew that it wasn’t actually a pleasant talk for the older one. And still here he was sitting with a smile, trying to comfort him, even though he had all the right of the world to yell at him or even tell Nikaido about what had happened.

Again he had to thank Kitayama for something and he should make sure to properly do so after the whole chaos had been cleared if he succeeded in making Nikaido listen in the first place.

***

Kentaro tried to be as silent as possible as he sneaked inside the building. It was late afternoon already when Kitayama made Inoo and Hikaru escort Kentaro back to his fight club, just to make sure that he wouldn’t run into any other trouble on the way. Nikaido would skin him alive if he was at fault if something happened to him on the way.

Unfortunately there was no official training at the last day before the tournament and even though Kentaro was sure that at least Massu and Nikaido were training, the possibility of running  into other members was still high.

When he reached the second floor he halted next to Aran’s room for a brief moment. The nausea from the evening returning, followed by a unpleasant sting and he finally kept moving before the sting could turn into a thousand needles punishing him for his stupidity.

“What did you do?”

Kentaro had the doorknob of his room in hand already when he flinched on the sudden voice behind him and he turned around with wide eyes, finding Juri and Kochi behind him with a judging look.

“What do you mean?” Kentaro asked carefully, because there was no way they could know, right? The first question had come from Kochi, but now it was Juri who stepped closer almost threatening and Kentaro pressed himself against his door, not sure why both of them looked so upset.

“How could you?” Juri asked this time, but it was still hard for Kentaro to make sense out of their questions.

“How could I what? Guys, I am really tired. If you want something from me, please be clear,” Kentaro replied annoyed and just for a brief moment he feared that he had somehow made them angry, because Juri grabbed him suddenly by the shoulders and shook him. But there was nothing violent in his action and his face turned sulking out of a sudden.

“How could you sneak out to a club without telling us?”

Kentaro kept staring at him while Kochi just shook his head with a scolding look and that was when he allowed himself to relax a little bit and he grabbed Juri by the wrists to make him stop shaking him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Could you please stop, it makes me feel nauseous and I felt like that enough over the last hours.”

“Oh that’s rare, you are normally not drinking that much,” Kochi concluded.

“And here I would have liked to see you drunk as well for once, but I guess I have to ask Aran how much you stood beside yourself,” Juri let out with a laughter while Kentaro’s face changed to shocked right away.

“Aran? Did he- Is he….” he gave up on forming a question when he wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask in the first place, but Kochi clapped him on the shoulder understanding, even though he might actually have thought that Kentaro’s confusion came from a hangover and not because he had screwed up big time.

“Aran seemed to have overdone it a little bit as well,” Kochi finally explained which made Kentaro raise an eyebrow, because Aran had still be fine when he left. Sure he had drunken a lot as well, but he could normally handle it better. Which made him conclude that after he had left him alone he had started wasting himself.

“Is he okay? Where is he?”

“Sleeping. We actually found him in the shower in the middle of the night. He can be happy that we both have the habit to go for showers extremely late.”

Kochi’s words hit Kentaro like a punch in the face. How could he even have thought about the possibility that Aran could be fine after what had happened and after he had run off like this, leaving him behind, again!

“He had obviously tried to hide the fact that he was out in the first place, but his body had given up on him when we found him and we had to help him back to his room. When we picked up his clothes we smelled the alcohol and when Nikaido told us earlier that you were out and were staying somewhere else over the night, we knew that you two were out together.”

It was the first time that Kentaro really hated Kochi’s analyzing skills, because one wrong word would expose him directly. He looked down the corridor towards Aran’s door again, but there was no way he could talk to him now.

“Let him sleep for today. Nakai was already angry enough when he heard of everything. Trust me you will get your scolding as well later. If we lose the tournament because of you two, you are dead meat,” Juri said still kind of teasingly, but Kentaro knew already that he would get scolded from everyone for what he has done. Other fighters would have loved to be in this tournament and he was risking their status just to have his fun, which wasn’t actually funny the slightest bit in the end.

“Who were you with anyway?”

“Eh?” Kentaro tried to focus back on them when Kochi asked him, but he really needed some more sleep. “Nikaido didn’t tell you?”

“Nope, we didn’t hear any details, but we are curious why you two didn’t come back together even though you seemed to have gotten drunk together,” Juri said, now a hint of worry in his voice.

“To be honest this is a long story, but could we please have it after the tournament? I really need to sleep a little bit more and get ready for Nakai yelling at me big time. I will tell you everything as soon as the tournament is over, promise.”

And he was indeed planning on keeping this promise. It wasn’t just Nikaido who had the right to know. After all he didn’t want to lie to the people he called his family either. He would have to learn to live with the consequences, even if more than one person would turn his back on him.

“No worries, take your time and rest for now,” Kochi said understanding and Kentaro nodded thankfully at him before he finally entered his room. He listened until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore and then he exhaled as if he had held his breath over minutes.

For now he would have a few more hours to collect his thoughts once more and try to not show his discomfort too much in front of everyone at the tournament. It was just one day. He could manage to keep a poker face for that time!


	10. Chapter 10

Somehow Kentaro had managed to lock himself away for the rest of the day and after the first unpleasant encounter with Kochi and Juri no one had tried to ask him about what had happened the evening before. But in the morning he had no other choice but join everyone for the preparations to leave for the tournament. What had gotten to him the most was Aran pretending like everything was okay and nothing had happened in the first place. Normally he should feel thankful for it, but he just couldn’t, because he knew how much he was hurting as well. Even Nikaido didn’t say anything which made Kentaro worry even more. He had just made sure that Kentaro was in a good enough state to enter the tournament and since then they hadn’t exchanged a word. The silence between them didn’t pass unnoticed and Tegoshi shot both of them a worried look from time to time while Massu tried to make him stay out of it. For now they should all concentrate on the tournament after all. Hagiya was luckily keeping Aran busy and kind of cheered up, even though Kentaro noticed the dark shadow passing his face each time their looks met and it gave him not just a small sting, but crushed him almost into the ground.

“Kentaro, you didn’t listen at all, did you?”

On Nikaido’s scolding tone Kentaro blinked a few times and realized that he had really not listened. He hadn’t even realized that Nikaido had talked to him. They had just arrived in front of the West Tokyo Fight Club which was in a really uncommon area, but as long as they had a ring there was nothing to complain about.

“Sorry, I spaced out.”

“As long as you concentrate in the ring it’s fine! Guess it doesn’t make sense to give you any more advice for the fight, you won’t listen anyway.”

Nikaido’s sharp tone made Kentaro lower his eyes to the ground and he had to gather all his strength to act normal and not break under the pressure already. Of course Nikaido had realized that something was wrong, but for now he hoped that the older one just thought that he felt sorry for not telling him that he went out and ended up at the Fire Foxes.

When Nikaido wanted to pass him without another word Kentaro grabbed him by the sleeve and Nikaido halted, his look suddenly softening.

“Concentrate, okay?” Nikaido told him in a soothing tone this time as he put his hand on the boy’s cheek to make him look up. “Whatever is on your mind it has to wait for later. You’ve experienced already what can happen if you don’t concentrate at a tournament.”

Kentaro nodded, because there was no way he could forget how things could escalate and Hokuto’s face appeared in his mind right away and a shiver ran down his spine.

“Okay, let’s get to the fun part,” Juri suddenly shouted next to them, ready to storm inside the Fight Club and Kochi hit him on the back of the head right away, while Hagiya laughed next to them.

“You still don’t know if you will even fight, so don’t get so overexcited,” Kochi scolded him before he entered the building with the other boys. Nakai, Massu and Tegoshi followed them and a few other fighters had joined them as well, because they wanted to see the tournament.

“Let’s go, come on,” Nikaido said as he squeezed Kentaro’s shoulder before he started walking and the boy cracked a brief, but still bitter smile before he followed him.

At first the Fight Club seemed not that different than theirs until they had reached the tournament hall where most of the others had stopped dead on their tracks already.

“What the hell is this?” Kochi asked with wide eyes, while Juri’s jaw had dropped open. Their reaction seemed almost a bit too drastic, while Hagiya and Aran seemed to be too calm. Kentaro on the other hand was more than taken aback.

The ring itself was the normal stone ground they were usually fighting on, also the size was the same, but it was surrounded by a high fence, leaving no way for the opponent to get pushed out the ring, which meant there was also no way to run away.

There was one door on each side for the fighters to enter, but there were already two people standing next to them which meant that it wasn’t like they were just free to enter or leave in the middle of the fight.

Their arrival was accompanied by a huge applause by the people which had gathered on the second floor surrounding the ring. Takizawa and Yara came to greet Nakai right away and Nikaido joined them as well.

“I already wondered the last time, but is there no trainer in their club?” Kentaro asked as he stepped next to Massu and Tegoshi, avoiding getting close to Juri and the others, because Aran was with them and the least he needed was seeing his hurt expression from even closer. He was good in making the others believe that he was fine when they all went over to the fence to examine it, but Kentaro knew him good enough to see through his façade.

“Yara is the trainer.”

Kentaro flinched when Kochi spoke next to him. He hadn’t even realized that he hadn’t gone with the others, but had walked over to them instead.

“What? How do you know?” Kentaro asked in confusion on which Kochi’s look turned to confused first and then there was another expression on his face, which he couldn’t really read for a moment before Massu interrupted his thoughts.

“It’s Kochi, he knows everything. Why do you still wonder if he knows something we don’t?”

“Also true,” Kentaro said with a brief smile and Kochi let out a chuckle before he hurried to join the others at the fence.

“So here the trainer is fighting as well, that is interesting. I bet Nikaido will try and convince Nakai to be allowed to do the same after he finds that out,” Tegoshi said and the other two nodded knowing that he was right.

“Are you gonna be okay if you get selected?”

“Of course, why shouldn’t I?” Kentaro asked on Massu’s sudden question, but not just his look, but also Tegoshi’s showed him that they suspected already that the last night carried more secrets than he was willing to let show.

“Okay, everyone get ready. We will start in a few minutes. Make sure you warm up, because we won’t know who will fight,” Nakai told them before he left to the second floor as well, from where Takizawa and he would observe the fight from their special seats.

A few minutes later they all stepped inside the ring and Kentaro felt like he was trapped in a street fighting ring instead of being at an actual tournament, but as long as it was an official club and they fought after the rules there was no reason to complain.

“For the first round the trainer of the North Club will draw the fighters,” Takizawa announced and pointed at Nikaido with a warm smile. Kentaro shot him a worried glance, but there was no reaction from the older one as he walked up to the two small bowls placed on a table in front of them. First he drew the name from their club and unfolded the paper.

“Juri,” he let out almost relieved and normally Kentaro would scold him, because he shouldn’t try to protect him like this in a tournament, but at the moment he couldn’t find the will to scold him for anything, after all he was the one who needed to get scolded.

Nikaido draw the other name and turned towards the fighters of the West Club. “Sanada.”

On the announcement a boy stepped out of the line and his look was almost bored as if he had wished to not get chosen.

“Lucky,” Juri said grinning, because he remembered that Sanada was in the 3rd class, but Kochi shot him a warning glare right away on which the boy let out a groan and rolled his eyes. “Don’t even say it! I know: don’t underestimate him, don’t get unconcentrated, blah blah…”

“I will remind you of it once more if you lose,” Kochi teased him before they all cleared the ring, taking the table and bowls out for now as well. But truth was that even Kochi didn’t seem too worried about the upcoming fight.

“Anyone want to put a bet?” Massu asked teasing while the real customers put their bets, but of course they could at least bet for fun.

“Juri,” Kochi said confident, which was typical for him, because he could normally tell perfectly if Juri had a chance or not, but this time he seemed almost one hundred percent sure of it and Hagiya raised an eyebrow at him on which Kochi looked almost apologizing, but Kentaro tried to ignore them all and focused on the fight. Like this he had the perfect excuse to not look at Nikaido or Aran.

Juri and Sanada started circling around each other. Both still cautious about the first attack and while Sanada had the advantage of being used to their ring, Juri seemed slightly taken aback by the fence out of a sudden. Looking at it from the outside was one thing, but being trapped inside, especially with another fighter was giving him a feeling of being trapped. It was a kind of pressure they weren’t used to and one look up to Nakai showed that their boss seemed quiet nervous as well, while Takizawa looked concentrated, but still relaxed.

Juri’s not existing patience took over him soon and he dashed into the first attack. Kochi shook his head before Sanada even blocked his attack, but Kochi’s reaction was appropriate, because of course Sanada blocked his way too obvious attack and countered with an extreme hard punch into Juri’s stomach which made the boy gasp and take a few steps backwards right away. Surprised, was what Kentaro thought he would be, but somehow Juri seemed to feel challenged instead as if he had already guessed that Sanada was using the same fighting style as him.

This time Juri attacked more accurate, but Sanada countered as if he had fought with Juri several times already, completely reading his movements, but the same soon applied for Juri as well, after all Kochi had taught him how to analyze.

After a few good counters from Sanada, Juri gasped as his back hit the fence and he got distracted long enough for Sanada to kick him into the fence with such a force that Juri almost fell to his knees. But he got a grip quite fast and blocked the next kick, sending Sanada to the ground with a precise counter punch right under the chin. The latter seemed disorientated for a moment, but instead of using his advantage Juri waited until he was back on his feet. But he didn’t remain there for long as Juri jumped at him with a kick and when Sanada landed on the ground again, it was already clear who would win this fight.

Kentaro allowed himself to relax a little bit, because even with the fence it was still an official tournament and they were still the number one club in the city, so at least for now he could feel relieved, especially as Juri pushed Sanada into the fence this time and his next attack made the other one slide to the ground. He was still conscious, but obviously not in the condition to get up and fight again. Juri stepped back and looked up at Nakai who gave Takizawa a calm look and the latter nodded waving his hand and the fighters next to the doors opened the fence so that someone could take out Sanada as they announced Juri as the winner.

Juri left the ring as fast as possible and he let out a relieved sound as he stepped next to Kochi. “This fence still gives me the creeps,” he complained as he rubbed his own arms with his hands as if he felt cold. “But at least the fight was easy.”

“Sure for you this was easy, but now you took away the only class three fighter on their side,” Hagiya said kind of worried and soon all eyes were on Kentaro who needed a moment to realize that.

“We still don’t know if I will even fight, don’t worry,” Kentaro let out as carefree as he could and he tried hard to ignore the way Nikaido’s look pierced him from the side.

When they all went into the ring again for the drawing of the next round he almost collided with Aran as they stepped inside the ring and both made a step backwards. Kentaro looked to the ground right away, but he could feel how Aran’s eyes were still on him.

“What are you two doing, come over here,” Massu scolded them as they had suddenly frozen at the gate, both unwilling to move. But on Massu’s scolding Aran grabbed Kentaro by the arm and shoved him into the ring, maybe with more force than he would have actually needed. That was also why Kentaro finally dared to look up at him, but this time it was the latter who didn’t face him as he walked next to Massu and had his eyes fixed on Yara who stepped forward to draw the next fighters.

“Oh, I drew myself, is that okay?” Yara asked and faced Takizawa and Nakai, but no one complained, because after all in their club it was okay to be trainer and fighter at the same time, so the agreed that it didn’t matter if he drew himself or not.

“Okay, now it gets interesting,” Massu whispered next to Kentaro and Aran which were both waiting impatiently for the next name to get called. Yara unfolded the second paper and turned around to them with an almost apologizing look and that was all Kentaro needed to know, especially as it was him he was looking at.

“Kentaro,” Yara let out and while there was a gasp from Tegoshi next to the ring, Nikaido tried hard to not show any reaction.

“Guess we found our most unfair fight for today,” Hagiya whispered next to Kochi who nodded worried. But Kentaro didn’t really spend them any attention, because his mind had turned blank out of a sudden. Of course he had known that such an outcome was possible, but why did he have to end up in the most unfair fight? Sanada had a fight just one class over him, Kentaro had to take on a class 5 fighter and not just that, Yara was their number one fighter and trainer after all.

There was a lot of muttering heard between the customers and who would actually bet on Kentaro in such a fight? Even though if Kentaro won, it would be huge win for their club.

“Are you going to be okay?” Nikaido asked him when everyone else had already left the ring, but it wasn’t actually a question he could easily answer.

“Even if not, it’s a tournament so there is nothing I can do about it,” Kentaro let out snappier than he wanted and Nikaido gave him an apologizing look through which Kentaro wanted to hit himself. Nikaido was the last person he should snap at now after all he wasn’t at fault that he got selected.  “Sorry, I guess I am just a little bit nervous.”

“Just concentrate, okay? Don’t try to win this fight on all costs, you hear me?”

This time Kentaro made sure to react calmer, because as his trainer and not just his protector it was just natural to get told something like this. He nodded and waited until Nikaido had also stepped out the ring and the sound of the metal gate getting shut made a shiver ran through his whole body.

Yara waited patiently until Kentaro had his gloves on and they met at the middle of the ring, both taking a side glance up at Takizawa and Nakai. On their signal they started the fight and Kentaro went on distance right away before he could get trapped in any kind of attack. They hadn’t gotten any information about their fighting styles, but neither had they, so it was an even fight in that matter.

“You want the first punch?” Yara asked after they circled around each other. Kentaro had never been good with that question, because it made clear that his opponent wasn’t really intending to make the first move, but it made his attack even more obvious if he decided to make a move first.

Instead of overthinking his attack too much he dashed forward, not holding back the slightest, because after all this was a class 5 fight, so not fighting serious from the first move could cost him a lot.

He jumped at Yara straight on, first with a punch then with his knee aiming for his stomach as the punch ended up in the air after Yara had ducked away under it.

His knee got blocked by the other one’s hands and then Yara countered, his hands taking a grip on Kentaro’s leg while he went down to sweep away the boy’s foot, but Kentaro had seen it coming and turned his upper body around, so that he was able to put his hands to the ground. The sudden body twist made Yara loosen the grip on his leg and when Kentaro jumped up with his other leg and aimed with a kick for Yara’s face the latter jumped into a back handspring to duck away under his attack.

They both landed back on their feet without problems and that made a few of the other fighters tilt their head in slight confusion.

“Don’t tell me…” Tegoshi started and Massu nodded in worry, while Nikaido had also tensed through that move.

Yara was the one to attack straight on next and at first it seemed like his attacks were way too obvious as Kentaro was able to block them without problems, but then he reached the fence out of a sudden and jolted when his back hit it. He tried to hit a counter attack to not get trapped, but even though he succeeded to make a few steps away from the fence again it didn’t protect him from the next attack, because it seemed like Yara had just waited for the right distance. Without a warning he dashed passed Kentaro and jumped with his leg against the fence to gain as much height as possible. Kentaro was fast enough to turn around and get his arms up to block the upcoming kick somehow, but there was such a force behind it that it took him off his feet and he slit over the ground for several meters.

After Kentaro had somehow found his orientation back he realized that Yara had taken a run up at him and when he jumped up and twisted in the air one time before he wanted to bring a kick down he recognized his own technique in the older one’s movements, which made him realize that this attack would end with at least a few broken ribs if he wasn’t fast enough. At the very last moment he succeeded in twisting out of the way and Yara stopped his kick before he could hurt his leg on the stone ground, but he was still close enough to change his movements into another attack and the moment Kentaro tried to get up again Yara jumped up as well and hit a pretty fast and strong spinning kick against Kentaro’s chest which took away the boy’s ability to breath for a moment while he crashed against the fence and slid to the ground.

“They are really using the same fighting style,” Tegoshi finally dared to say after he had held his breath over the last few sudden attacks. Even Aran seemed to have tensed all of a sudden, his eyes fixed on his friend. Kochi and Juri observed the fight with a nervous expression as well and from time to time their eyes flickered towards Takizawa who was still carrying a calm expression. Nakai didn’t seem that happy about the fight, but there was no need to interfere, so he tried to stay as relaxed as possible.

Kentaro on the other hand had no time to relax, because Yara dashed forward again even though it was clear that Kentaro wouldn’t be able to start a counter attack yet, if he was even able to get back on his feet in time. Which he didn’t. He used the fence behind him to pull himself up again, but just when he was back in a standing position Yara had reached him and hit a direct punch in his stomach on which Kentaro gasped and leant to the front. As much as he wanted to concentrate on blocking or countering, Yara’s attacks came way too fast for him to even get to clear his head. The moment he had leant to the front Yara hit his knee up at the same spot again before he grabbed Kentaro by the shirt and dragged him away from the fence, shoving him down on the ground. With a pained yelp Kentaro landed on his stomach and rolled on his side, coughing.

“Kentaro, come on get up!” Nikaido interfered out of a sudden, but no one was actually surprised by that, because it was what he normally did. Sure he had said that the boy didn’t need to win the fight with all his might, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try. “Concentrate!”

Easier said than done, but he was right and Kentaro’s look fell on Aran when he tried to get up again and that was when he halted for a second. There was actual worry in the boy’s eyes and wasn’t that what Kentaro should have expected? After all Aran had watched out for him a lot back at their gang and now he was banned to the sideline, watching how Kentaro was tossed around as if he still didn’t know how to fight. That feeling actually made him angry out of a sudden, because a few days before the tournament he had told Aran that he would show him how good he had become at fighting, but the only thing he showed him right now was how pathetic he was and how easily one mistake could throw him out of balance.

“Watch out!” Even before Aran shouted out for him he had known what was going on as Aran’s eyes widened. Kentaro swirled around and ducked away from Yara who had tried to get a grip on him from behind. With his concentration being back to normal he could finally use his speed and precise techniques as usual and he vanished out of Yara’s view and attacked him from behind with a spinning kick which forced Yara to make a few steps to the front.

The same as Yara before Kentaro dashed right into the next attack and even though Yara was able to block most of them, he couldn’t really counter as easily as before anymore.

“Full of surprises, aren’t you?” Yara said with a smirk when both of them finally had to go on distance for a moment to catch their breath.

“Same for you. Who would have thought that I wouldn’t just face a class 5 fighter, but also someone with the same fighting style?”

“Which makes me wonder, are you a dancer?” Yara asked and of course it was the most obvious question, after all Kentaro could already tell that Yara was one for sure. When he nodded an exited smile showed on Yara’s lips. “Interesting.”

Kentaro didn’t miss the short look up at Takizawa, but he didn’t dare to follow his look, because even the slightest unconcentrated moment could cost him the win, not that he was that confident that he could actually turn the fight around after he had to take in so many hits already, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t at least try.

There seemed to be a short moment of confusion on Yara’s face before he looked at Kentaro again. But then he just shrugged his shoulders and dashed into the next attack. But this time Kentaro was prepared and their fight seemed to level up with their next attacks, none of them willing to go on distance, even though Kentaro had to take in more hits than Yara, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t hit some pretty good counters as well. Even though it was just a small advantage he was slightly faster than Yara, even though the latter’s strength was more dangerous when it came to direct attacks. Both moved almost in harmony when they dodged an attack and tried to counter, which turned their fight almost into an actual dance.

“How long can they keep this up? They are moving and jumping so much that I feel nauseous already,” Juri asked while he watched them in fascination.

“This fight will be decided by the better stamina,” Tegoshi said calm, because the fight didn’t seem to go in an escalating or over violent direction, so there was nothing to worry about except for Kentaro losing.

The others were still tense, but that was normal after all for a tournament fight no matter how harmless it seemed. Nikaido had his own reasons to be cautious, as well as Aran. It was Kochi though who breathed in sharp before the actual attack happened, but as usual he saw it coming.

As Tegoshi had explained the fight soon changed through the stamina level of the fighters and while Kentaro wanted to go on distance to somehow get a break, Yara still didn’t let off him. Which resulted with the next kick of Yara going through Kentaro’s defense and pushing him into the fence once more. This time Yara didn’t hold back the slightest and he gave Kentaro a harsh punch on the cheekbone and Kentaro wasn’t sure if he had imagined the cracking noise or not, but he could worry about that latter. Once more he tried to counter, but his speed had dropped and as much as he screamed at his body to move faster it couldn’t keep up with Yara’s speed anymore. His punch went into nothing and Yara punched him into the stomach before giving him an upper cut right under the chin which actually made Kentaro lose his orientation and he slid to the ground with his back at the fence without being able to keep his balance.

When Yara reached out for his collar and tried to pull him away from the fence he took a hold on him and moved his legs up around the latter’s neck with a fast move. His last chance to turn the fight around and he succeeded at least to bring Yara out of balance, but he couldn’t bring him to fall and the latter lifted him up instead and threw him to the ground with his back first on which Kentaro breathed in sharp and had to loosen his legs around the other one. Yara was now sitting on top of him and tried to land another punch, but Kentaro tried to block all of his attacks with his remaining strength, even though the result would be the same just with a small delay. The outcome of the fight was already clear.

Then there was another punch going through his defense and it hit the same spot on his face than before and this time Kentaro let out a pained groan as he was sure that he hadn’t imagined the cracking noise before, the pain now running through his whole face and he kept up his hands protectively next to his face while his breathing pace had turned extremely erratic through the need of air which wasn’t gained him through the continuing attacks.

Yara lunged out again and Kentaro tried to shift away, but he couldn’t get away and soon his last strength would leave him completely defenseless.

“Enough,” Takizawa was suddenly heard and Yara stopped his attack and looked up at their boss. Takizawa looked at Nakai and the latter nodded, knowing that continuing this fight would cause unnecessary injuries.

“Guess you are getting away easy today,” Yara said with a teasing smile as he got up and stretched his arm out towards Kentaro who needed a moment to even realize the offer. With a slightly shaking hand he grabbed the latter’s hand and let himself get dragged into a standing position, but the older one had to stabilize him so that he wouldn’t lose balance again. Just seconds later Nikaido was next to him in the ring and Yara gave them some space so Nikaido could take a look at him. Kentaro formed an apologizing smile, but winced and moved his hand up to his cheek.

“Guess Miyata has to take a look at that,” Nikaido let out as he stroke carefully over the boy’s cheek and Kentaro didn’t miss the relieved look on the latter’s face. After all a broken cheekbone was a more or less small injury compared to what could have happened.

Nikaido helped him out of the ring and Miyata asked Kochi and Juri to help him with his treatment, because Nikaido had to go back inside the ring to draw the last fighters. Kentaro dared to look up at Aran as he put one arm around Kochi’s shoulder and when the boy stepped next to them before he entered the ring Kentaro felt as if he could somehow, however that would look in the end, turn things around once more as Aran gave him a relieved, almost proud smile and hit him lightly against the shoulder.

“Guess you really learned a lot. That was an entertaining fight.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Kentaro let out, slightly sheepishly before Aran wanted to step inside the ring. “Aran!”

The boy turned around again and Kentaro searched for the right words. “If you fight next show them what you got!”

“As if I would hold back, we can’t afford to lose the tournament, right?” With a wink and one of his confident smiles Aran finally turned away from him and stepped inside the ring next to Massu. Kentaro wanted to at least hear the fighters for the last round before Miyata would treat him. Nikaido draw the fighter of the West Club first and announced Junta in the fight, which meant whoever was fighting from their own side the fight would be even with all of them being in the 5th class.

“Massu,” Nikaido announced next and while Massu grinned happily, Tegoshi looked kind of stressed through the outcome. Kentaro would have been the same if it would have been Aran, but now he could let Juri and Kochi bring him to the med room for now without him being too worried. Massu was an awesome fighter after all and even if they lost the tournament it wouldn’t be the end of their fight club.


	11. Chapter 11

“You can call yourself lucky that the bone didn’t break completely,” Miyata said after he was done with the boy’s treatment. Kochi had remained with him in the med room while Juri had returned to watch the fight at some point.

There was applause and some shouting here and there, but it wasn’t really clear for which side it was.

Kentaro flinched when Miyata put a tape over his cheek down over his chin. “It’s not much, but at least it will stabilize it a little bit. Be careful that you won’t get any impact on your face over the next days!”

Kentaro nodded and Miyata went back to organize the medical equipment he had brought with him, just in case a fight wouldn’t end as harmless as Juri’s and Kentaro’s.

“Don’t you want to watch the fight?” Kentaro asked when Kochi looked over to the door when another applause was heard.

“No, it’s fine. With the drawing system it won’t be so helpful to analyze our opponents anyways, because we don’t really know who we will face and preparing for 4 different fights isn’t really possible.”

“But you prepared me for the right one,” Kentaro said with a smile, but he had to watch out not to open his mouth too much while speaking or his injury would start hurting again.

“And still here you lost even though I knew that he was a dancer.”

“You did?”

Kochi looked away for a moment as if he needed to search for the right words, but turned back to Kentaro with a smile. “At least I thought that he had a similar fighting style as yours. And you stood a good chance against him for some time.”

Kentaro’s look darkened a little bit on that, because sure he shouldn’t be angry or disappointed that he lost a class five fight, especially against an opponent with the same fighting style. But on the other hand Kochi was right, he had prepared him for that possibility and still he didn’t stand a chance in the end.

“And I should also stay here, because I doubt Aran want to spend you company and Tegoshi and Nikaido won’t leave the side of the ring before the fight is over.”

It took Kentaro a moment to get the broad hint and when he saw Kochi’s interrogating stare he looked away, even though it was clear that Kochi had figured out a lot already, even though he hoped that he couldn’t analyze to the point of knowing what exactly happened.

“You don’t want to talk about it, right?”

Of course he didn’t and why did he have to ask when he already knew? It was extremely hard for Kentaro already to lie to all of them, did they have to push him into his guilt even more and pretend it would be fine to keep it a secret?

“It’s fine, I just wanted to let you know that it is no secret anymore that you went out together. That rumor spread fast and since Nikaido knows about it as well, I guess you should speak to him first.”

“Oh really? I know that myself,” Kentaro snapped at him out of nowhere and Kochi raised an eyebrow before Kentaro sighed and sat back on the bed. “Sorry, I know it has nothing to do with you. I’m just a little bit over challenged with the tournament and Aran entering the club and….messing things up a little bit.”

“As I told you I can see that, so I am not blaming you for being aggressive, but I also watched Aran since last night and he seems...broken? I am not sure how to say it, but he was so lively and loud all the time, now he seems to be a shadow of himself.”

Another hit straight in his face, but this time Kentaro succeeded in not shouting at the other one, because that was exactly what he had seen since the morning as well and who could blame him? Kentaro had made a step towards the worst direction ever and then he had left Aran behind, again! Without any explanation and once more everything seemed to repeat and Kentaro was slowly breaking under the pressure of his own stupidity.

“As soon as we are back at our club I will make sure that we get to talk, all of us.”

“I’m sure you will handle it the way you usual do. Especially Nikaido and you are good in talking things out in the end, so it will be alright.”

Alright? Would he ever be able to make it alright again after revealing what had happened? But if he stayed silent it wouldn’t be alright either.

Lost in his thoughts he almost missed the loud shouting and cheering outside until it grew louder than usual which made the two boys look at each other in slight worry. They knew that kind of cheering and a shiver ran down Kentaro’s back, because he remembered the first time he had heard it, at Hokuto’s last fight!

The next thing they heard were fast steps out in the corridor and the next moment Juri dashed inside the room. He looked at Miyata and pointed outside, obviously searching for the right words, any words, but he seemed totally out of it.

“Juri, calm down. What happened?” Kochi asked as he shot up and walked over to his friend who was almost out the door again when Miyata got the hint and got ready to follow him.

“Massu….Massu is-” Juri just kept shaking his head unable to voice out more and that was enough for Kentaro to jump up as well and dash after the others as Miyata urged them to move.

When they reached the tournament ring everything was a huge chaos and Kentaro needed a felt eternity to even find the person in the ring he was looking for. Nikaido and Tegoshi were inside the ring already as well, while Takizawa and Nakai were talking to the customers upstairs. A few seemed surprised, others kind of entertained and a few were actually shocked. And while Kentaro knew what would await him it didn’t make it easier. He hadn’t thought of such an outcome at all, because the tournament had been so quiet. The first one he saw when he stepped inside the ring after Miyata was Junta who was standing on the other side with his fighters. His expression was neutral, it didn’t seem like one of those fights they had with Tamamori’s club before. Otherwise at least Tegoshi would have ripped him apart already. On the thought of Tegoshi, Kentaro finally dared to step closer to his friends and when he was finally able to see what was going on as he stepped next to Kochi and Juri the shock paralyzed him as if it was his first day in a fight club.

Tegoshi was sitting on the ground right next to Massu. The older one’s eyes were wide open and staring to the side of the ring, but they were completely empty. It actually seemed like he had looked towards the spot Tegoshi was standing before. But now he couldn’t look at him anymore even though he was sitting next to him. Now it was just Tegoshi who could look at him, who could move his hand slowly up to his face to shut his eyes.

Explanations of what exactly had happened had to wait until later, but there was blood running from the back of Massu’s head which showed that Junta had most likely slammed him into the stone floor.

Miyata sat down next to Tegoshi, but there was no need for him to confirm anything, because it was clear to everyone that it was over. For a felt eternity Kentaro kept looking at Massu, because he still couldn’t believe that after all they had gone through together, after he had helped them so much on their way and had finally found back to Tegoshi that this was how his story ended.

A hand on his shoulder made him jolt and he looked up at Nikaido with wide eyes. He hadn’t even realized that he had moved over to him. They heard an announcement from Takizawa that the tournament was over and slowly the people got less, but Kentaro couldn’t really concentrate on what was going on around him. He tried to concentrate on the others, but the only thing he realized was that Aran and Hagiya hadn’t come inside the ring, maybe because they didn’t know if they should after all they were new and didn’t know Massu as well as the others. And Tegoshi. Tegoshi was quiet, way too quiet. No one had to comfort him, because there were no tears or sobs, there was just silence and a weird calmness on his face. Miyata talked to him in a calm voice, asking him if it was okay to bring Massu to the med room and when Kochi and Juri moved to help them carry him Nikaido finally pulled Kentaro away from them.

“Hey, Kentaro look at me,” Nikaido said in a worried voice which confused the boy a little bit, but then he slowly realized how much he was shaking and he was sure he had gone as pale as Juri had been before when he had entered the med room. He tried to look towards the ring again when they carried Massu outside, but Nikaido blocked his view and put his hands carefully to his face, making sure not to hurt his injury. “You don’t have to look.”

It was almost funny to Kentaro how Nikaido could tell right away how he was not able to deal with the situation, even though he didn’t break down this time. On the other hand who else than Nikaido would be able to tell? This was something Aran and him hadn’t gone through so the boy couldn’t really know how to support him and he would also definitely not want to take care of him after he left him behind twice already.

“Why do things always have to go so out of hand when we are involved?” Kentaro asked in a shaking voice and Nikaido pulled him into a hug and stroke carefully over his hair. The question hadn’t just been for Massu, but for his own actions as well. There was just too much going on at the moment and with the loss of Massu, Kentaro gave up holding his façade for now.

“I know it’s hard. After he had just come back to us it isn’t fair,” Nikaido said in a calm voice while Kentaro buried his face on the latter’s chest, hoping that his sobs weren’t too loud, but there were not many people left to hear them anyways and he also didn’t care what they would think. He had lost another friend and it was just as cruel as all the other times.

They would all need a few days to be able to catch up to reality and it was also clear that Tegoshi would have a breakdown sooner or later, but for now they would all mourn their friend’s death in their own way and Kentaro had to see how he could handle the situation without making his other problems even worse.

***

The first day after the tournament was the hardest, for all of them. Normally Kentaro would have isolated himself with Taiga after such a horrible happening, but this time he had to deal with it on his own. Of course Nikaido would be there for him, but as much as he would usually appreciate it and let the older one comfort him, this time he had to stay on distance, after all he hadn’t forgotten what he had done. There was no way Nikaido would even care about his feelings anymore if he found out, which he would, because Kentaro was still about to tell him. But not now. It had to wait until things turned a little bit quieter again. Another uproar while they were mourning Massu’s death wasn’t what they needed and what he didn’t want Tegoshi to experience. The older one still hadn’t cried, at least not in front of them. For the whole day he had mostly stayed in the med room and Nikaido and Nakai had talked to him in between, but maybe he needed things to calm down first to finally show how he felt, because Kentaro knew Tegoshi good enough by now to see that he was everything but fine.

Juri and Kochi had withdrawn for now as well, because it was clear that Tegoshi didn’t need any supporting words at the moment, they wouldn’t reach him anyways. Kentaro remembered how he had reacted on Senga’s death, how hard must it be to not lose a friend, but the most precious person in his life? But thinking about it Kentaro had almost gone through the same, because losing Nikaido, even though he didn’t die, but for him it felt like it, was something which had almost broken him back then. And this time it had been him who had broken everything to pieces, to fix something he had messed up before. But even that hadn’t worked out and in the end he had messed up on both fronts, hurting all his beloved ones.

With a sigh he sat up, because lying in bed for the whole day had made him think way too much already and he couldn’t use another headache.

For a moment he thought about going out for a while, because that seemed to be what Hagiya and Aran did, but where should he go? The chances of running into trouble again were big, after all he was attracting trouble like a magnet. And he didn’t really feel like meeting up with Myuto or Fukka, because even though they would definitely try to cheer him up, they couldn’t help him with his other problem. For that he would actually have to meet up with Kitayama and that would be an extremely stupid move at the moment.

In the end he wandered around the building, finding himself alone in the training room, after all it was already late at night and training had been called off for the first few days after the tournament. With slow steps he moved through the room, stopping at the ring and lifted up his gloves from the side of it. Even Nikaido had told him already to get new ones, but somehow he just didn’t feel like it. He had made so many precious memories at this place, how could a pair of gloves still be that important to him? And as he had told Aran before he shouldn’t actually be allowed to even cherish something like this, when he wasn’t even able to cherish the people closest to him.

With a sigh he let the gloves drop again and stared through the room before he stepped back and let his back drop against the wall, closing his eyes.

_"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" Kentaro had lost it the moment Nikaido had switched back into his serious and professional mood like he wouldn’t sense himself that the tension between them was making a normal training impossible by now, but as Kentaro turned around ready to yell at him again he found himself slammed into the wall before he could even breathe in._

_"Don't forget about my payment!" Nikaido said in such a dangerous voice that Kentaro felt scared of him for the first time. "I told you to get stronger, but if you are giving up on that I might give up on you."_

_"You can't be serious?" Kentaro asked him kind of panicked and he was confused by the sound of his own voice. Why was he so hurt by his statement?_

_"If you don't want that how about we change the payment?" Nikaido's attitude had changed after Kentaro's question and now the younger one looked at him confused, but kind of hoping. He didn't want this to end, he didn't want to lose him as a protector nor did he want him to stop supporting him with his training._

_"Then what payment would that be?" Kentaro asked nervously as Nikaido put his elbow next to his head on the wall. He gulped and his heartbeat got faster and again he could feel the heat crawling up his cheeks, but he wouldn't look away and then it happened._

_Nikaido had grabbed his chin and crushed their lips together before Kentaro even knew what was going on. The younger one grabbed Nikaido's sleeves intuitively, but didn't try to struggle. Instead he even tried to pull him towards him, putting one hand in his hair after a moment._

_Nikaido also moved his hands to the younger one's hair and when he licked his tongue over his lips Kentaro shivered through excitement even though something inside of him screamed at him to push him away...._

But he hadn’t pushed him away and that was maybe the best decision he had ever done! A slight, almost not visible smile formed on his lips, while he kept his eyes closed.

_“If you think you are already strong enough to carry your burden yourself I won’t stop you, but please don’t lie to me! I did my best to stay calm at our visit at the east club and thanks to you I succeeded, but so did you! Exactly because we both did our best those days I don't want you to lie me in the face so easily! It feels like you wouldn't need me anymore and that is what I am most afraid of."_

The next memory actually hit him like a punch in the stomach and a shiver ran through his body. “Like I wouldn’t need you anymore…?” He whispered the words as if he feared they could come true if voiced out louder.

_“I won’t tell and you don’t have to tell. Make it a one-night stand, but don’t push me away again. As much as you try to close your eyes, you still know that I need you right now, as much as you need me!”_

This time his memory had actually made him gasp and he opened his eyes in shock as if Aran had stood right next to him, whispering the words in his ear.

The pressure of hiding the truth was finally getting the best of him. Now that the tournament was over and that they had also lost a precious friend made it hard to stay sane. So why should he? With a deep breath he pushed himself away from the wall and approached the nearest punching bag. He had gone through similar unstable mental stages a lot before, but this time it was different, because this time it was all his fault and he couldn’t blame even a bit on someone else, not even Aran.

He didn’t even try to hit the bag carefully. Even the first punch was already fast and precisely. With the next punch he could feel how his arms were already lightly shaking, but his body had to give him a few more moments before it was allowed to get its desired breakdown.

One more punch, a kick which made the chains creak and then the first outraged scream. People would maybe hear him, but just for once he didn’t want to care about consequences, even though this kind of thinking had brought him in this situation in the first place.

The next kick hit the bag in a weird angle and he could feel how the injuries from his fight with Yara made his body complain, but he still wouldn’t stop.

With a loud curse he punched the bag almost furious until the shaking of his body wouldn’t allow him to even lift his arms properly anymore.

“Damnit…” Kentaro whispered when he hit the bag with the side of his fist and dropped with his forehead against it. “Why am I so stupid?”

Normally that was the situation when Taiga’s voice would reach him out of nowhere, because his friend always knew when he was bothered by something, but this time the room stayed silent. Kochi had analyzed a lot already, but he wasn’t the type to bother when he knew he couldn’t solve the problem. And in one weird way Kentaro was happy about that, because the conversation at the tournament had been awkward enough already.

After all he knew the answer to the problem already and he knew that he had to make up his mind and tell Nikaido even though the latter was definitely busy with a lot of other things after the outcome of the tournament, but maybe telling him would make him less busy, after all the possibility of Nikaido shutting Kentaro out of his life completely was more than high and alone that thought made Kentaro feel nauseous again.

He would give himself two more days and after everything had calmed down he would finally pay for what he had done and the way that would happen was alone Nikaido’s decision.

***

Nikaido didn’t want to have this talk, especially because he knew that one of the reasons he had chosen to come here and talk to Tegoshi was because he could run away from other talks like this. And he also wasn’t the type who would normally go and support people, even if it was about his closest friends, after all he had always been the distant kind of character. Except when it came to Kentaro. The moment he realized that he would occupy his thoughts with the topic he was running away from he knocked on the door. A few seconds passed in silence before an almost not audible come in was heard.

“Hey,” Nikaido voiced out when he entered Tegoshi’s room. After all something like are you alright wasn’t something he should ask, because it was more than obvious that he wasn’t. The day after the tournament they had all left him alone, but the day after they had held Massu’s funeral and one more day had passed as well and now they slowly started worrying, because Tegoshi was still in the same calm state as at the tournament.

Most of the others didn’t even try to approach Tegoshi and normally it would be Ueda who was taking care of situations like this, but with him being away, Nikaido had to be the adult. He didn’t feel confident in handling emotional situations like this, because he was bad enough at handling his own problems, but leaving Tegoshi alone for too long could have bad consequences.

All the other fighters didn’t even bother with them anymore, especially after everything that happened with Nikaido and the Fire Foxes. They had become their own small group inside the club, which all the others considered as dangerous, but like that they wouldn’t at least cause them any trouble anymore. If anyone attacked one of their group they were outlawed,  so he didn’t have to worry for Kentaro getting attacked.

Tegoshi gave him a neutral look as Nikaido remained at the door, not sure if there was even the need to sit down or if Tegoshi was going to throw him out of the room in a few moments anyway.

“You want to talk?” A better question than if he was okay, but it still sounded weird.

“Is there anything to talk about?”

“How you feel maybe?”

“What do you think how I feel?” His face didn’t show any change, but there was a hint of anger in his voice, which was actually good, because he finally showed some kind of emotion again. Nikaido let out a sigh and bit his lip, not sure for a moment what to answer.

“I lost a good friend back at the Fire Foxes and I won’t ever forgive myself for it, but I learned in a hard way that running away wasn’t the right way to handle things.”

“I am not running away from the truth,” Tegoshi interrupted him, but Nikaido shook his head right away.

“Not like I did, but you are still not facing reality and even though I know that it is easier like that, it will make things even worse in the end.”

“Oh and how do you know? You were never in the same situation,” Tegoshi hissed back at him. He shot him and angry glare from his bed where he was sitting, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and finally not just his voice, but also his face filled with more emotions again, troubled and confused emotions, but that was what Nikaido wanted to see.

“Right, I’ve not lost Kentaro, but I almost did and also the other way around. We both know at least the feeling of the fear of losing the other one.”

“You still don’t understand. Fearing it to happen and seeing it happening right in front of your eyes are two different things.”

Nikaido finally dared to make a step away from the door with his next words. Maybe it was time to make Tegoshi face reality straight on without being all careful around him. “Then tell me how it feels, because all I see is that you are not feeling anything. You behave like nothing has changed. Is it so easy to pretend that he never existed?”

The next glare Tegoshi shot up at him as he stepped closer was as dark as Nikaido had never seen the latter’s face until now. The anger and hurt hidden behind his perfect mask were breaking free bit by bit.

“Don’t you dare to say that again. You don’t even know how important he was to me,” Tegoshi whispered, his voice sounding like the dangerous hiss of a snake, ready to attack.

“So important that you can erase him out of your life that easily? Shall we all do the same so that we don’t have to remind you of him? All your private moments you shared with all of us even though Juri and the others scolded you so often for it?”

“Stop it…” another whisper, the danger getting more visible now, but Nikaido didn’t care and stepped closer instead.

“Right, stop talking about him that is what you want, so you can just go on like nothing happened. Like the time when you two were in different fight clubs, maybe it would have been better for you if you had stayed apart for good. If you can’t even mourn his death then he didn’t seem to have been that important to you after all.”

“STOP IT ALREADY!” This time Tegoshi roared and shot up, taking Nikaido by the collar. But the latter didn’t even flinch, after all he had seen the outburst coming and to be honest he was surprised that Tegoshi hadn’t hit him by now.

“Why should I? Give me a reason to stop talking like this and I will. But at the moment I have all right to say what I just did. And I can still continue! You told me I wouldn’t understand the feeling, right? But I lost my best friend, someone who was as close to me as a brother and trust me it hurt like hell! And it hurt you as well, because you two were also close. But now you want to tell me that Massu was your most precious person in your life? All you are showing me is that he was unimportant enough to get easily erased out of your life.

“I didn’t erase him out of my life,” Tegoshi hissed and tightened the grip on Nikaido’s collar, but the latter just lifted an eyebrow.

“Liar!”

One word which seemed to hit Tegoshi right in the face and this time the punch Nikaido was waiting for finally came and he didn’t even bother dodging it. Tegoshi started breathing erratic as he pulled back his arm which was shaking after the punch on Nikaido’s face.

“Say that again and I will make you regret it!”

“As I said, give me a reason to not say it, and then I won’t.”

Just a bit more, that was all he needed to finally break through the thick wall Tegoshi had created. It felt like having an argument with Kentaro somehow, which made it easier to calculate his moves. After all he knew that Tegoshi wasn’t lying, but as long as he wasn’t going to finally voice out his emotions, he had to keep throwing accusations at him to make him realize how much his behavior affected the way people were seeing him and his relationship with Massu.

“Leave,” Tegoshi said, suddenly completely calm again. One last try to build up his defenses again, but Nikaido wouldn’t let that happen. “There is no need to explain anything to you.”

“Right, guess there is really no need. Massu isn’t worth the attention we all try to give him. You are the best example for it. He was just an unimportant fighter of our club we should all forget about.”

Talking bad about Tegoshi’s reaction was one thing, badmouthing Massu a whole new story and Tegoshi’s expression changed from neutral, over angry and stopped on ready to tear Nikaido apart with the next word, which he didn’t have to wait for long. “After all he died in a regular tournament fight. Nothing went out of hand in that tournament and still he couldn’t handle his own fight. Too bad, no one will even remember him as it seems. His first class 5 fight was his last, seems like he wasn’t as good as we thought. What a loser.”

He wasn’t even sure from where Tegoshi got the strength from to push him backwards, especially with such a force that he found himself with his back at the wall with just one push. Tegoshi let out a roar and tried to punch Nikaido again, but this time the latter blocked his attack. It wouldn’t have been an affective attack after all, because Tegoshi had started shaking all over and after his first outburst there seemed to be no energy left to keep up his walls.

“Don’t talk like that about him.”

“I hate repeating myself. Give me a reason and I wi-”

“Because I love him! I will forever love him and I won’t ever get over the fact that I lost him just like that!”

There was no need to reply something on that, but it was time for Tegoshi to finally remind himself of that fact. “Accepting reality hurts badly enough already, but connecting his loss to everything we built up together...it’s just too much to handle…” Tegoshi escaped a sob before he finally stepped back and gave Nikaido the space to step away from the wall.

“Don’t try to shut it out, it will hurt even more! Do it for him! He wouldn’t want you to give up this easily.”

“I don’t want to give up. It’s just...I don’t know...life seems to have lost his whole meaning all out of a sudden.”

Tegoshi’s words have turned calm again, but this time Nikaido knew that there was nothing to worry about. Tegoshi was always getting a grip pretty fast.

“When Senga died I was so shocked, I couldn’t handle the situation at all and somehow it made me lock away the possibility to break down again like that.”

“And I can understand you, but we are all here for you! There is no need for you to hide your sorrow, just because it will hurt you! Let us know about it, tell us that you feel completely broken and shaken, because we are here to support you, not to judge you!”

Tegoshi’s lips formed a brief, almost invisible smile as he nodded and looked up at Nikaido. “Thank you. I really mean it! I know how hard it is for you to take care of other people’s problems, so I really appreciate your concern.”

“As much as I want to take that as a compliment, it somehow sounds like an insult.”

This time there was an actual chuckle heard from Tegoshi and Nikaido cracked a small smile as well.

“We both know that you are just getting emotional when it is about Kentaro,” Tegoshi teased him.

“Guess I just proved you wrong then?”

“Not sure, you got angry at me, but that’s not the same.”

“Fine, next time I should come crying to you, maybe that will spare us the talking part,” Nikaido let out with a lopsided smile before he turned towards the door. After all Tegoshi was still more shaken through their conversation than he would actually let show, but this time he wouldn’t shut himself away from everyon, which didn’t mean that he still needed some time on his own. This time to mourn and not to erase his loss.

“We are all here for you if you feel like talking,” Nikaido assured him again and Tegoshi nodded with a thankful smile and voiced out another thank you before Nikaido shut the door behind him.

That had actually went not as bad as he had thought it would. Before entering the room he had already made up some emergency plans if Tegoshi was stubborn enough to not talk at all, but luckily he had been able to solve it through talking, even though it had been a pretty harsh topic.

For now he felt like he needed a break himself, after all it was late in the evening again and they would start their official training in two days again.


	12. Chapter 12

With the funeral being over and the training starting in two days again Kentaro finally ran out of excuses, but that didn’t make it easier to bring up the courage to finally talk to Nikaido. He wanted to at least wait until the evening and have a talk in private with him, because like that he had to face just Nikaido’s outburst and letting the others know could wait for later.

Somehow he had found himself back in the training room once more, his thoughts jumping from one possible outcome to the other and somehow none of them were positive.

“How the hell do I always manage to end up in the biggest mess of all?” Kentaro whispered to himself as he hit the punching back in front of him lightly before he sighed.

“The bigger question is how you always think that you are the only one affected?”

Kentaro flinched and swirled around, finding Aran leaning against the doorframe of the half opened door. No of course he hadn’t forgotten in what state he had left Aran after his....mistake. And it seemed to have just added more fuel to the boy’s anger which he had already carried with him since Kentaro had left him behind at their old gang and vanished without another word. But now the boy’s look was even darker than over the last days, but something else seemed off.

“Aran...I, I’m sorry. I should have talked to you…”

“After or before you fucked me and left me behind like an unimportant no one?”

Kentaro couldn’t really find any fitting reply to that, because his words had just put a huge stone in his stomach, after all he couldn’t deny how true they were. He had run away from his responsibilities once more and it was just natural that Aran wouldn’t stay at the sideline for long. The tournament and Massu’s funeral had stopped him as well from approaching Kentaro, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t come to have this talk sooner or later, even though Kentaro had hoped it would be later.

Nevertheless the choice of Aran’s words made Kentaro take a few steps closer to the door and when the boy walked inside the room with slow and unsteady steps Kentaro’s worries got confirmed.

“Aran, are you drunk?”

And with drunk he meant seriously drunk. Aran had been gone half the day already, but not even Hagiya had known where he had vanished to. It was dangerous to let Aran go out on his own when he was in such an unstable state, because even though he could handle alcohol way better than Kentaro he also didn’t know a limit.

“Does that matter now?”

“If you want to have a proper talk then yes. Because you know the best how unpredictable you get when you drink so much. Do you remember how you picked a huge fight once just because you didn’t like how the person next to you talked?”

“I am not here to fight though.”

Aran approached Kentaro with slow, but still threatening steps, which were telling exactly the opposite from what he had just said. Kentaro wanted to back off, but after a few steps his back hit the wall.

“Aran, I am really so-”

“Tell your apologies someone who wants to hear them,” Aran hissed at him and Kentaro’s eyes went to the ground, because Aran’s look burned him like fire and there were so many emotions in them that he wasn’t able to look at him at all. Sure the rage came definitely from the alcohol, but the hurt had been there all the time. “Maybe your boyfriend wants to hear them? I doubt you have told him yet, because otherwise I wouldn’t be standing in front of you.”

“I won’t let him hurt you!” Kentaro replied almost panicked on the younger one’s words. “It had been my decision as well and after all I am the one who did a mistake here, not you.”

“So I was not more than a mistake?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant. But...so much time has passed and I changed….you changed...I shouldn’t have given in that easily, because I can’t deny that you are still extremely important to me, but exactly because you are, I shouldn’t have hurt you like that.”

“The only thing that hurt me was you leaving me behind, again!”

Of course that was his main point and Kentaro was aware of that, but what else than apologizing could he do? Again his eyes landed on the ground, but not for long ,because he jolted as Aran’s fist collided with the wall right next to his face.

“At least look at me when you are not running away for once,” Aran warned him.

But it wasn’t like Kentaro wouldn’t feel like running away once more, but he was trapped and there was no way Aran would let him go that easily anyway. The only problem was that he was sure that no matter what he would say at the moment Aran would twist everything around. A fight between them was the least he needed now.

“What do you want to hear from me if not an apology?”

“How about a decision?”

Kentaro raised an eyebrow at him questioning, but Aran still didn’t show any change of emotion on his face. The anger in his eyes was still burning him down and made it hard for Kentaro to keep looking at him.

“What kind of decision?”

“Him or me!”

“What?” It wasn’t like he hadn’t understood the question, but the fact that he had stated it in the first place completely confused him.

“The fact that you didn’t answer right away makes me believe that it is really something you should think about.”

“No way,” Kentaro answered straight forward this time. After all his hesitation shouldn’t be understood wrong by the younger one. “I have to admit, what we had back then was something really precious to me and I regret that we didn’t have the chance to actually be together for longer, but both our lives have changed now and there is no way I will risk Nikaido’s and mine happiness that easily again. There is no decision to make, because that question never came up for me in the first place. After all you were the one who said make it a one-night stand.”

When Aran suddenly escaped a chuckle Kentaro shivered, because he knew that attitude of him and it wasn’t one of his good points. It was actually a behavior he normally showed towards their opponents when he was getting extremely pissed.

“You still didn’t tell him, right? Maybe you should wait with your final answer until that talk is over.”

“I admit that it was cowardly from me to run away, but that doesn’t mean that I will keep you as something like a back-up plan, because when I said you are still precious to me I meant it! You are too important to me to be handled as someone I can use whenever other people turn their back on me.”

“But you handled me pretty well last time,” Aran whispered as he suddenly stepped closer and put his elbow to the wall which made Kentaro tense. When he tried to make a step to the side Aran’s other hand landed on his hip to make him stay where he was. “I give you one more chance to think about it.”

“Why do you have to do this to me?” Kentaro voiced out in a weak voice, because as much as he didn’t want to hurt the other one, he had to get angry sooner or later if he wasn’t going to get his point.

“Because I am still in love with you the same way as I was after our first kiss.”

That actually made all the color disappear from Kentaro’s face, because he knew how unusual it was for Aran to voice out thoughts like that and if he did then it meant something really serious. The alcohol made it even easier for Aran to voice out such things without thinking about it too much. And while Kentaro thought about what had happened as a mistake caused through everything they hadn’t been able to talk about through the way they had been suddenly torn apart, it was more to Aran. Way more! “You think I would forgive you that easily for leaving me behind if not for that reason? It’s not like I’d normally offer myself as the third wheel of a relationship or sleep around randomly you know? You left me behind two times already and here I am again, giving you another chance, don’t you think it would be fair to give it at least another thought?”

If the situation was different Kentaro would have said yes right away, but this time he also couldn’t say no right away anymore and of course Aran had realized his sudden hesitation. But this time Kentaro raised his red flags before he could make another stupid move. He held Aran away on his shoulders as the latter suddenly pulled him closer and leant forward, but as expected Aran wouldn’t leave him alone that easily and he moved his arm from the wall to Kentaro’s neck to be able to hold him in place as the other one tried to struggle.

“Aran, stop! Even if you want me to think about it, that doesn’t mean that I do the same unappropriated move twice. And especially not when you are this drunk!”

“Tell me that you are giving it a thought then I might let you go tonight.”

“You are letting me go one way or the other! I told you I won’t let it escalate again!” This time Kentaro used more force to push the other one away, but as usual Aran was stronger and pushed him back against the wall with the weight of his body. “Cut the crap out, Aran! What are you even aiming for?”

“If you are not considering my offer then this will be our farewell I guess, which means I will draw a line as well.” Aran’s words were hurting, even though they should actually make Kentaro feel relieved.

“Then I fear this will be our farewell,” Kentaro replied with an unsteady voice and he felt how tears of disappointment were getting ready to fall as soon as Aran would leave the room. After all a farewell wasn't what he wanted, but what was he supposed to do when the boy put such a heavy decision on him?

When he tried to make a step to the side Aran’s grip tightened again and Kentaro looked up at him ready to complain, but he froze on the way the boy’s look had darkened to a dangerous degree.

“Aran, if you want to draw a line you have to leave now.”

“I will leave, but let me make it easier for you, because I can see how much you try to make me stay at your side as a friend, but sorry I can’t just watch from the sideline.”

“Then what else do you want?”

“I will make sure that you don’t feel sorry for pushing me away.” Aran almost growled and pushed Kentaro back against the wall with such a force that the older one let out a gasp. Aran leant down to his ear while he pressed his body against Kentaro’s with all his weight. “I’ll make sure you are going to hate me!”

It took Kentaro a moment to get the meaning behind that and somehow he wasn’t even sure if he got everything he had just said, but then his thoughts were interrupted when Aran tightened his grip on him and attacked his neck with his teeth while moving one hand right under his shirt.

“Aran, stop it!” Kentaro warned him again, this time a hint of panic in his voice. “There is no way I will let you do this just because we won’t come to a conclusion. You will regret this later as well.”

“Even if, I don’t care. There is already too much on my list of things I regret, but it might end soon so I can at least add this as well.” With that Aran forced Kentaro’s head up with both hands, forcing their lips together before Kentaro could even find a fitting reply to the words which didn’t make sense anymore maybe caused through the influence of the alcohol.

This time Kentaro didn’t even think about giving in to the kiss. After all he had made his point clear. But Aran’s sudden rough and determined attitude scared him a lot and as much as he tried to get the upper hand, Aran wouldn’t be able to overpower him if it was by force.

Kentaro escaped a gasp when Aran finally released him out of his grip just to move his hands to his pants without any kind of hesitation, but Kentaro’s hands were on his right away, stopping him or at least trying to.

“Aran, please stop this nonsense,” Kentaro begged him as he tried to shift away from him, but once more he found himself pressed at the wall.

“So that you can run away again? I make sure that you want to leave me behind for once and for all! You will run away from me from now on and that might be the best for both of us!”

The pain and rage in his tone wasn’t easily divided, but both were clearly heard. And it made Kentaro freeze for a moment, because maybe he had caused more damage to the younger one than he was aware of.

“Please let’s talk about this again.”

“I’m done talking!” Aran hissed and made his point clear right away as he lost his patience and ripped his hands out of Kentaro’s grip. When he moved again Kentaro recognized the attack right away and at the last moment he succeeded in somehow twist away from the wall and avoided the fatal hit on his shoulder.

The shock slowly turned into anger as Kentaro was sure that he hadn’t imagined what he was up to. “You are not seriously trying to use your special technique on me, do you?”

“What if I said yes?”

“Are you out of your mind? Okay, I know I hurt you pretty much with all the shit I’ve done so far, but this is going way too far.”

“Oh trust me I didn’t even get started,” Aran replied calmly before he dashed forward again and this time Kentaro had at least some space to dodge his attacks as good as possible, but one hit would be enough to lose the fight and as angry as he was at his friend at the moment, he didn’t want him to make such a stupid move, because that burden was something he didn’t want him to carry. Rage made him blind easily and this time the alcohol added way too much fuel to it as well. As soon as he calmed down again and realized how irrational he had acted he would beat himself way too much for it. So whatever it would take Kentaro would make sure to stop him, somehow.

But after a while of dodging and trying to get out of the room if possible, which wasn’t of course, because Aran could perfectly tell all his next moves, there was one moment he wasn’t fast enough and he pulled away with a hiss as Aran hit his shoulder and with a curse he realized that he could lift his left arm anymore.

“Guess the other arm or a leg will be enough to stop you from struggling,” Aran let out with such a threatening tone that it gave Kentaro the creeps.

“Do you even hear yourself talking? Just a moment ago you told me that you are still feeling the same for me as-”

“It doesn’t matter if you are not feeling the same,” Aran interrupted him. “And you just made clear that you don’t!”

Without waiting for a reply Aran dashed forward again and this time Kentaro tried to attack as well, as he realized that he would just get driven to a corner if he continued dodging all the time.

While Aran was fixed on his one technique Kentaro found an opening in his attacks and brought the younger one to fall through a foot sweep, but there was no way he could hold him down with one of his arms unable to move so he tried his luck and ran for the door, but his escape plan was cut short when Aran shot up again and pulled him to the ground. Kentaro tried to turn around and kick him away, but then there was an impact on his thigh and he let out a hiss before he felt how his leg turned numb.

“Two down, guess I should try my luck now, don’t you think?”

Again Aran reached out for Kentaro’s pants who tried to free his other leg, but Aran had trapped it under him, so that Kentaro had just one arm left to attack, but of course Aran just pinned it down to the ground, while slipping his other hand into the older one’s pants. “If you stop struggling I can make this another pleasant mistake for you,” Aran whispered as he leant down to his ear and Kentaro shut his eyes for a moment, trying to find a way out of this completely messed up situation, because there had to be a way.

When Aran released his wrist again and shifted back to pull Kentaro’s pants lower, the older one reacted immediately and rose his upper body up and lunged out for a punch. Completely shocked and disorientated he fell back as Aran countered with a punch to his face without any hesitation and Kentaro could call himself lucky that he had hit the unhurt side of his face, because the punch had been strong enough to break his already cracked cheekbone.

Aran didn’t even seem to care anymore how much he had to hurt him, which made Kentaro already lose his will of somehow making him snap out of it in a calm way. He succeeded in freeing his leg and he kicked Aran in the stomach so that he had to let go of him for at least a brief moment.

“Snap out of it already!” Kentaro hissed at him while he tried to crawl away from him, but of course it didn’t take long before Aran got a grip on him once more.

“Shut up, I told you I am done talking!”

“But I am not,” Kentaro yelled at him and tried to twist away when Aran obviously tried to get rid of the latter’s shirt. As he didn’t succeed he just moved his attention back to his pants and with one leg numb and the other one trapped again Kentaro wouldn’t be able to struggle for long.

“ARAN CUT IT OUT ALREADY,” Kentaro roared and slashed around him in his last attempt to make him stop. “LET GO OF ME!”

Aran ignored his shouting and struggling, which got weaker after a while and soon Aran would just use his technique again if he kept trying to punch or kick him.

He had almost given up, the same moment Aran was about to succeed in stripping him out of his clothes, but it was also the same moment he heard fast steps behind them and the next moment Aran was lifted off him and thrown to the ground with an ominous sound when his back hit the ground. The boy let out a yelp and sat up right away as his attacker approached him with threatening steps and lifted him up by the collar, giving him a harsh punch directly in the face. That was actually enough to keep Aran on the ground, blood running from his nose while his sense of orientation seemed to not work for a while.

Kentaro’s attention was so fixed on Aran that he didn’t even realize that the other one had approached him and was actually talking to him.

“Kentaro? Hey, come on talk to me!” The other one said as he waved his hand in front of his face and looked down at him with an almost panicked expression, a rare emotion on his face, that was for sure and normally it was just Kentaro who could make it appear, but this time he felt more than embarrassed to have him look at him like this, because there was so much more to the story he had just entered.

“Nikaido…” Kentaro whispered, his voice slightly shaking. “What...How?”

“I was with Tegoshi and just on my way back to my room when I heard you shouting,” Nikaido voiced out before he turned towards Aran with a hateful glare. The boy was back in a sitting position, but obviously not in the state to start another attack and why should he? Fighting Nikaido wouldn’t really help him. It would actually make things even worse.

“I guess this requires more than just a little bit of scolding,” Nikaido said warningly towards Aran, but Kentaro stopped him as he tried to approach the boy.

“Please don’t,” Kentaro begged his protector and the older one gave him a questioning look. “We have to have a talk first. I don’t want you to misunderstand the situation.”

“Misunderstand? What is there I could have gotten wrong the moment I entered the room?”

Kentaro didn’t reply on that, but shot Aran a worried glance, because the boy could just blur everything our now, but he didn’t.

“Anyways, could we have this talk later in private? Please let’s bring Aran to the med room for now.”

“There is no way I will let you two stay in the same room.”

“Miyata can take a look at me in my room or in yours, I don’t care. But please let me explain before you jump to conclusions.”

Nikaido still looked skeptical and even Aran’s look had changed to a slight confused one, because this had been Kentaro’s chance to blame everything on him. Even the first time in the club could now easily be blamed on Aran, but Kentaro didn’t want to make him the black sheep, just because he had made one wrong move.

“Just because it’s you, I will make sure that he gets treated as well and then we need to talk I guess,” Nikaido said as he tried to help Kentaro up, but the boy shook his head and that was when Nikaido’s look darkened even more. He scanned Kentaro once more, realizing the condition of his arm and leg, which made him almost change his mind about helping Aran, but Kentaro begged him once more and Nikaido would let the topic drop for now.

But Kentaro had to get prepared, because now there was no way around the topic anymore. The question was just if he was about to lose both of his most precious people in his life at once like this.

***

Silence. A heavy silence that carried so much hurt, rage and disappointment that it was almost visible floating in the air.

Kentaro had ended up in Nikaido’s bed to rest after Nikaido had shoved Aran into the med room, making clear that if he left the room on his own he was dead meat.

First Nikaido had urged Kentaro to rest first and let them have the talk the next day, but Kentaro had reached his limits and before the older one could stop him he had told him everything. Without any outride, up to every detail, okay as much as they were necessary. Nikaido hadn’t interrupted him even once, but his expression had turned to stone from the moment Kentaro had told him that everything had actually started willingly from Kentaro’s side.

Kentaro retold everything up until the moment Nikaido had entered the training room earlier and then he fell silent, looking at Nikaido with an expression he wasn’t even sure if it showed how miserable he felt. But after a while he looked away and faced the bed instead. He touched his fingers of his numb arm feeling that he would soon be able to move it normally again, but he wasn’t sure if he should voice out an apology or not, because of course that was what he wanted to do, but right now he couldn’t read Nikaido’s expression, so any wrong word could lead to a huge explosion. So for now he tried to stay silent and give Nikaido the time to catch up to the situation. Which didn’t happen fast and who could blame him? After all he had told Kentaro that he trusted him and that he wouldn’t doubt him that easily.

“If you have anything else to say, then you should do it now,” Nikaido said in a low voice and Kentaro almost flinched on the danger lying in those words.

Slowly Kentaro looked up at him again and the way Nikaido was looking at him gave him shivers. It almost felt like the first time they had actually met, the distance between them physically hurting him.

“I’m sorry,” Kentaro started carefully. “I know that an apology alone won’t make it any better, but at least I want you to know that I felt like the worst person on earth the moment I realized what I did.” Not that he actually hadn’t realized right away what he was doing, but trying to excuse his behavior on the alcohol or blame Aran as well for it, wouldn’t help them now. “Trusting my words that easily won’t be possible for you anymore, I know that, but Kitayama can also assure you that I was anything but happy about what I did.”

Reminding him of Kitayama hadn’t been the smartest move maybe, because Nikaido’s look darkened even more, but he was still facing the boy who gulped nervously.

“I hurt him as well with my behavior, which resulted in what happened earlier, so please don’t blame him, because this was my entire fault in the first place.”

Nikaido’s look changed slightly on that as if he wanted to let out a disbelieving chuckle, but in the end his expression turned neutral again.

“Is that all?”

Kentaro bit his cheek from the inside and thought of anything else he could say to break the ice between them which he himself had put there. But as much as he wanted to beg him to forgive him, for now the older one needed time to think about the situation as well.

“I love you,” Kentaro let out finally, his voice unsteady and so low, that he wasn’t sure for a moment if the latter had heard him. “And I don’t want to lose you.”

There was no reply to this and somehow Kentaro didn’t wait for one. Nikaido stood up after another moment and left for the door, turning around to the boy once more. “Stay here for tonight. Don’t get up before your leg and arm are fine again.”

Kentaro nodded and waited for something like a warning not to talk to Aran, but it wasn’t coming. After all that warning should be printed in his head by now, it wasn’t like someone had to remind him of that ever again.

When Nikaido left the room Kentaro opened his mouth, wanting to ask where he was going, but there were no words forming in his mind and the door fell shut in silence.

He wasn’t sure if it took just a few seconds or several minutes before his body started shaking and the first tears rolled down his cheeks. He clenched the sheets with one hand and let desperation take over him for now. Other people would have maybe thought Nikaido’s reaction wasn’t that bad, because he didn’t yell at him or punch him, but Kentaro knew better. They had needed so much time to find together and they had ended up being one of the strongest teams ever, but now he had shoved them back to the start line, back to all those days of careful approaches and doubtful looks.

He let out a curse as he leant with his head back at the wall and closed his eyes forcefully, wanting the tears to stop, but it wouldn’t work and his sobs turned louder instead. He moved his hand from the sheets up to his hair and pulled on it as if he wanted to give himself the scolding Nikaido hadn’t voiced out.

This was just the beginning and Kentaro was already afraid of what was coming when his friends would also get to know about what was going on. Even with what happened between him and Aran in the end, no one would see him as the victim here and he didn’t want them to. He was completely aware of what he had done and that he was the only one to blame. The question was just if there was a way to continue his life like this or if he had messed up for good.


	13. Chapter 13

There was no way Nikaido would talk to Kitayama about this, after all Nikaido wasn’t the type to talk to anyone about things like this. He would have maybe talked to Ueda, but he couldn’t at the moment, so for now he just kept walking around, trying to clear his head.

Of course he knew that Kentaro was regretting what he did, the boy was ready to shatter to pieces and it had surprised him that Kentaro had managed to be that calm after telling him everything. Which didn’t mean that he wasn’t aware of the fact that the boy had definitely cried his heart out after he had left.

It was already so late that the only people crossing his way were those who finally left the bars and clubs around the area. A few of them were drunk, some were shouting at each other, but Nikaido just made sure to not run into any trouble. After all he wouldn’t want anyone to become his personal punching bag, because the rage which was rampaging inside of him was enough to do serious harm to a lot of people, if he got provoked.

He didn’t feel like entering a bar or any other loud and crowded place, so he kept moving until he reached a calmer area, stopping on a bridge and leaning over the railing. It had become pretty cold again and he could see the small white cloud when he breathed out.

“Never thought I’d see such a troubled expression on your face.”

Nikaido didn’t even bother turning his head towards the person approaching after all he had recognized his voice right away. He kept looking over the river until the other one also leant down on the railing with his arms.

“What do you want? Don’t you have any important business to attend?” Nikaido asked snappy, making clear that he wasn’t in the mood for company, but the respond was a low chuckle.

“Guess finding you here is now my important business, because you don’t seem like you are okay,” Kamenashi replied in a calm tone while Nikaido had to watch out to not yell at the older one right away. He gave him a side glance and then he realized that there were a few of Kamenashi’s men waiting at the end of the bridge.

“You don’t seem to have enough free time to bother with my problems though,” Nikaido said and Kamenashi looked over to his men.

“We are out on patrol, but it is not like we have a specific goal, we are just protecting our area.”

“Protecting it from what?”

“Guess through your tournament and everything that happened you didn’t hear?”

“Wait, you know about the tournament?” Nikaido asked, now finally lifting his upper body up again, Kamenashi following his example.

Kamenashi nodded with a sad expression. “I am sorry for your loss. Massu was a really passionate fighter and I know he was a really precious friend to all of you. I bet Tegoshi will need some time to get over his loss.”

“At least he finally accepted it and came back to reality, took us long enough to get him back,” Nikaido whispered slightly irritated that he even bothered with having this conversation.

“But this is not what troubles you, right?” Kamenashi’s question made Nikaido glare at him again, but the older one wasn’t the type to get easily scared, especially not in his position.

“Right, you don’t want to talk about it. Fine, maybe later or with someone else. Back to what I’ve said before then,” Kamenashi changed the topic without even bothering with Nikaido’s annoyed reaction. “The triangle has collapsed.”

First Nikaido couldn’t make sense out of what he had said and he blinked at him in confusion before he finally understood. “Excuse me what?”

“The Reapers were destroyed by a group called the Storm Warriors,” Kamenashi continued and for a moment Nikaido caught himself being happy that it wasn’t the Fire Foxes which had gotten attacked, even though he couldn’t quite understand his own worries. Why should he care for them any longer or for Kitayama? But Kentaro cared and that was as always enough to make him care as well. Which also gave him a sting, because as always his thoughts drifted off to the boy too easily.

“How could that happen? Is Ryosuke…?”

“We don’t know,” Kamenashi answered to both questions. The group wasn’t really known until now and by the time the Reapers figured out that they were more dangerous than they thought it was already too late. We don’t know any details, but it seems like Ryosuke got away somehow. They are searching for him quite a while already. Maybe he got help, but we can’t really interfere at the moment, we have to protect our own area. A few days before I met with Kitayama as well, letting him know what is going on, so that he can take precaution in his area as well. Something tells me that this is just the beginning.”

“So what, you are hiding in your own areas, waiting to get attacked as well?” Nikaido asked with a raised eyebrow, but again Kamenashi shook his head.

“We just have to make sure that our own groups and territories are secured. From tomorrow on we will move into the Reapers former territory to get a better picture of the situation. Did you ever hear of Mugen?”

“Mugen? Didn’t you just say they are called Storm Warriors?”

“Yes the group that attacked the Reapers, but it seems like they are not the ones behind the bigger plan.”

Nikaido could feel how he was getting a headache. The only plan he had had for the day was talking to Tegoshi and he had been so relieved that at least his condition was getting better, how had he ended up in such a mess between his own relationship problems and another Underground fight?

“The problem with Mugen is that we don’t know anything about them. It appears that they were located in the Tokyo area for a long time already, but lay low until now. We are missing a lot of information about them, but what we know so far is that they attack fight clubs, take their strongest fighters or kill them and burn down the clubs.”

With every new explanation the story seemed more and more ridiculous to him, but it was Kamenashi he was talking to, so he knew that he could trust his words. “This is actually also why it was really good that I met you here today. Otherwise I would have come to your club in a few days anyways. Kitayama and I will make sure that the other Fight Clubs get informed as well. What about the West Club?”

“What about it?”

“Shall we warn them as well?”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

Kamenashi raised his eyebrows slightly and bit his lip which made Nikaido understand his reasons, but it wasn’t like a tournament should make them enemies. It wasn’t like they had broken any rules or got overviolent; it had been just one of so many unfortunate outcomes of a fight.

“Warn them, it is not like they deserve to get targeted.”

Kamenashi nodded on that before he made a step back, signaling that he was going on patrol with his men again.

“Make sure to warn all of your members then. I will come to your club as soon as we have more information. Let me know if there are any suspicious people around the fight clubs. We can’t be sure if there are any traitors among us.”

That warning made Nikaido feel extremely uneasy out of a sudden, because who knew what those troops were planning? Attacking the Titanium Triangle and going after the fight clubs at the same time was a risky move, so they seemed to be confident in being able to overpower them and which better way was there then infiltrate their clubs and troops?

“Don’t worry, I will make sure that our club is safe,” Nikaido assured him and with that Kamenashi excused himself.

Suddenly everything had turned into a huge chaos once more and Nikaido could just shake his head as he headed back to the club. His private problems had to stand back for now, after all he also had to take care of his friends and the other fight club members. He wouldn’t let some weird new troops ruin what they had built up over the last years.

***

There were some confused looks the next morning when they all gathered in the training room after Nikaido had told them to come. But most of the looks were directed towards Aran and Kentaro who had both bruises on their faces and it didn’t take a genius to understand that whatever had happened was connected to both of them.

“Okay everyone listen up, I had a meeting with Nakai early in the morning and told him the same I am going to tell you guys now, so listen carefully, because this is extremely important.”

They all listened in silence while Nikaido retold everything he had been told by Kamenashi the evening before. Some of them looked worried, others almost scared and a few didn’t even seem to take the situation serious. Aran also didn’t seem bothered by what he had just heard, but considering the boy’s past and the current situation he was in, it was clear that he had other things to worry about. Kentaro also stayed completely silent too busy with other thoughts to react to Nikaido’s words. Of course he had listened and he knew that they had to watch out from now on, but his head was already aching again, so he didn’t want to worry for something they weren’t even sure was going to be their problem in the end.

“Training will start from tomorrow again, as planned. For today you are dismissed,” Nikaido added and slowly everyone scattered away, until their typical group remained in the room and for a moment none of them moved until Juri let out a sigh. “Are we going to keep silent forever now or is someone finally going to tell us what is going on here?”

Kentaro exchanged a brief look with Nikaido who didn’t seem like he would stop him if he said something now, but that wasn’t making it any easier. He dared to peer up at Aran next, but the boy’s look was directed to the ground. He had obviously reached the stage where he regretted his outburst, but with Nikaido around there was no way he would even dare to speak to Kentaro or approach him.

“Guuuuuys,” Juri tried again, already annoyed.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Tegoshi interfered right before Kochi also wanted to say something. But somehow he seemed happy that Tegoshi had finally gotten a grip and so he let him continue the mediation between them. “We are all here to listen, but if it is something you have to make out between the three of you then we won’t ask again, just let us know if you need us, because we are right here.”

Kochi nodded on that and Juri and Hagiya also agreed, while Aran’s look darkened and he tensed as his friend put his hand on his shoulder. Kentaro wasn’t sure if Hagiya was the type who would listen to Aran’s worries, but the boy definitely needed someone to talk to sooner or later. For Kentaro though it was maybe better to let them all know.

“I know that our private problems should stay out of the training room normally, but because you will all find out sooner or later anyways, I will tell you,” Kentaro started and everyone turned to him in mild curiosity and also some kind of worry. Kentaro looked at Nikaido and Aran once more, but they stayed silent and the boy let out a defeated sigh before continuing. After all he had already tried to convince Nikaido the evening before that everything was to blame on him, so he had to deal with this on his own as well. “Before the tournament I- I cheated on Nikaido with Aran.”

Tegoshi didn’t seemed too shocked, even though he was maybe the most disappointed one, because after all he knew how much Nikaido treasured their relationship and after all they had went through to get Nikaido out of the Fire Foxes it was a harsh slap in the face. Sure Tegoshi had realized that Kentaro’s feelings towards Aran were still stronger than the boy wanted to accept, but this was definitely not the outcome he had wished for.

Hagiya just looked at his friend with a questioning, almost angry look, which Aran couldn’t hold for long and he faced the ground again.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Of course the question came from Juri after all he wouldn’t hold back or try to read the atmosphere. Somehow Kentaro was happy that Fuma wasn’t there at the moment or he would have already gotten punched.

“Juri calm down, it has nothing to do with us,” Kochi tried to calm him down, but the boy shook his head.

“Oh it does! Because we went through so much shit to get you two back together and now you act like your relationship is something that can be thrown away that easily?”

“Juri-” Kochi tried again, but Kentaro interrupted him.

“There is no way I would ever handle our relationship that recklessly. It was-… a mistake and I am regretting what I did, to both of them,” Kentaro said, giving Aran a careful glance, not knowing how he would react, but luckily he didn’t seem to feel offended.

“But you already handled it the wrong way. Regretting it now is a little bit late, don’t you think so?” Juri had completely taken Nikaido’s side and who could blame him, he had risked a lot as well to help Kentaro, just to feel like he did it for nothing.

“I’m sorry. I owe you all an apology and I understand if you won’t accept it, because I’ve screwed up a lot this time-”

“What about the bruises?” Juri interrupted him on which Kentaro fell silent. “Keeping secrets right away again? Wow you succeeded in being honest for two minutes, congratulations.”

This time neither Kochi nor Tegoshi scolded him for his harsh words, because it was clear that they were all curious, but it was something Kentaro didn’t want to tell them, because he didn’t want to make Aran the bad guy.

“Aran and I had...an argument yesterday and it escalated a little bit,” Kentaro explained carefully on which Juri raised an eyebrow and even Hagiya looked skeptic at him.

“Mhh, so what was the argument about?”

“Juri, seriously now?” Kentaro asked slightly annoyed all of a sudden, because telling them about what had happened in the first place had been his own decision, but getting forced to spill out details made him feel angry, but it also showed that they weren’t buying his lies.

“Is it such a big deal to tell us what it was about?”

“No, but it’s not of your concern.”

“Then tell us!”

Kentaro let out a long breath while Juri crossed his arms to his chest. “I’m waiting.”

“Enough of this ridiculous talk,” Aran interfered before Kentaro could come up with another lie. “I cornered Kentaro in the training room yesterday, because he refused to talk to me and-”

“And I overheard their talk and found out about the truth, resulting in both of them getting what they deserve.”

Kentaro’s eyes grew wide in shock and he turned towards Nikaido with a disbelieving look. Had he really just made himself the bad guy to prevent Aran from taking the blame? Sure Kentaro had explained to him that he didn’t want Aran to be seen as the bad guy, but it wasn’t like Nikaido had to bother with his request after what he had done to him, but here he lied for him, taking all the blame on himself and it made Kentaro feel like the worst person existing.

The positive effect of Nikaido coming up with a lie this time was that no one would question it, because none of them could read his expression. They all seemed more than startled by what he had said, but on the other hand it wasn’t like their fights hadn’t ended up physically before, so it wouldn’t be such a surprise if it escalated with such a critical topic.

“Everyone satisfied now? Then you are all dismissed as well,” Nikaido let out neutral and Kochi pulled Juri towards the door before he could come up with any other offending question. Hagiya also pushed Aran towards the door, the boy’s look now as confused as Kentaro’s, because he obviously couldn’t explain why he had been protected out of a sudden. Tegoshi didn’t leave and it was clear why, after all there was no way he would leave those two alone in a room after that heated conversation and Nikaido got the hint first and left the room as well.

“Are you okay?” Tegoshi asked when the door fell shut again.

“You shouldn’t bother asking. I’m sorry that everything turned out so chaotic again, because of me. But you have your own problems to deal with, so don’t worry I will handle this myself.”

Tegoshi gave him a faint smile before he stepped closer and ruffled the boy through the hair, earning a confused look in return. “It is always fascinating me how many burdens you can load on your shoulders without breaking. I know Juri’s words must have been hard for you, but I guess you understand his reaction.”

Of course he did, because he knew that not just Tegoshi, but also Kochi had seen this coming more or less. Maybe not in those extent, but they had realized that Kentaro was trapped between his past and present with Aran’s arrival. But that didn’t meant that they were less shocked than Juri, they were just better in not showing it.

“This time it might have been the last burden I will load myself with,” Kentaro whispered, but Tegoshi shook his head, squeezing the boy’s shoulder.

“This burden is something you are not carrying alone, even if you think you do. You might feel like everything is loaded on you, but truth is that the decision of how this story is going to end won’t be made by you alone.”

Kentaro wasn’t sure if that was supposed to encourage or to scare him, but Tegoshi just gave him another brief smile before he walked over to the door.

“We are all here for you remember that. There is no way we are turning our backs on you. Juri doesn’t either, he is just too stubborn sometimes to show that he actually cares.”

His words made Kentaro feel at least a little bit relieved, because that had been his biggest worry from the moment he had told them. Being left behind alone, with everyone turning their backs on him was his biggest fear. But for now he had to concentrate on just one person’s back and see if that person will ever turn around to him again.

***

This time there were no bad dreams which kept him from sleeping. After all he didn’t need nightmares anymore to make him feel uneasy, his life had turned into a real life nightmare already. So this night turned into one of too many sleepless nights once more and Kentaro stared at the ceiling with a lost stare. Things had gotten way too much out of hand over the last days and somehow he felt like his private problems had somehow overshadowed that they had lost one of their friends and he didn’t want to feel like he treated him that respect less just because he hadn’t been able to keep everything to himself for longer. Even Tegoshi tried to support him and that while he was actually the one who needed support.

And while things had escalated on Aran’s side, they were way too calm on Nikaido’s, which gave Kentaro a breaking headache since their talk was over. Juri’s reaction was also still getting to him a lot and even though the others hadn’t voiced out their thoughts that clearly it had been written all over their faces that they were disappointed in him.

With a sigh he turned to the side, pulling the blanket over his head and trying once more to just ignore the cruel reality for another while.

“I said no, end of story. We are leaving now.”

“Fine, but don’t forget to let us know the details later.”

The voices were low and on the far end of the corridor, which made it hard to identify who had talked, but just the word leaving had been enough to make Kentaro get out of bed in a rush and open the door to the corridor carefully. Whoever had been talking before was already on their way down the stairs and Kentaro got just the glimpse of one of them and that certain one was Aran, which made Kentaro vanish inside his room again just to change into warmer clothes and grab his jacket before he dashed down the stairs, following after him, but making sure not be seen.

When he reached the exit and took a careful look outside he spotted Aran right away, next to him Hagiya, but they didn’t seem in a hurry. He turned around once more, but the club was silent, whoever had been there before was back in his room.

Without even knowing why he was even feeling bothered by the fact that Aran and Hagiya left the club in the middle of the night again he went after them this time. Sure they had been out a lot over the last weeks, but it had been the short conversation in the hallway which made him doubt that they were just leaving for a night in a bar.

They walked for quite a while and soon Kentaro realized that they were moving towards the western side of the city. When they arrived in the area which hadn’t really been restored since the war Kentaro wondered even more what they could want here, but then there were even more people walking towards the same direction and around the next corner he finally halted as a big theater came into his view, a lot of people walking around it, some seeming to guard it while others entered after arriving with trucks or on foot.

In shock he realized that Aran and Hagiya had disappeared out of his view, which he should also do, because even though he had no clue what was going on he knew that it wasn’t something good. But even though something told him that he should just turn around and get back to the club, because of course he would end up in trouble if he wasn’t leaving, he didn’t! His mind was focused on finding out what was going on, even if it was definitely one of the most dangerous distractions he could have come up with. Carefully he moved back around a few corners, trying to find an entrance to the theater without getting seen or at least without looking too suspicious while entering in between all the people. Aran and Hagiya seemed to have succeeded in entering as well after all.

But something about the atmosphere surrounding the place made him already believe that he wouldn’t like what was awaiting him behind those doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are finally at the end of WAR CHILD!  
> The next part will be COMBAT! All stories (Call Out, Comeback and War Child) will continue together in that part)


End file.
